Saudi TV says allied army has achieved military goals in Yemen and will not begin new operation called ‘Restoring Hope’
The Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen has announced an end to its operation, a statement read out on Saudi-owned Arabiya TV said, adding that the campaign “successfully managed to thwart the threat on the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.
According to the statement, the allied army has achieved its military goals in Yemen, and will now begin a new operation called “Restoring Hope”.
Focus will now be shifted towards security, counter-terrorism, aid and a political solution in Yemen, according to the Saudi-owned TV channel. But the Saudi-led coalition will “continue to prevent Houthi militias from moving inside Yemen,” a Saudi military spokesman said.
A statement issued by the Saudi defence ministry reads: “Since the beginning of the ‘Determination Storm’ operation, in which the Saudi Armed Forces distinguished themselves in battle efficiently and capably, resulting in imposing air control to prevent any hostility against (the Kingdom) and countries of the region, the Ministry of Defense announces that the airstrikes, with participation of the Saudi brave hawks with brothers in the coalition countries, have successfully managed to thwart the threat on the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries through destruction of the heavy weapons and ballistic missiles seized by the Houthi militias and troops loyal to (Ali Abdullah Saleh), including bases and camps of the Yemeni army.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iranian deputy foreign minister had hinted at a ceasefire, signalling that diplomatic efforts may have been underway to stop almost a month of Saudi-led bombing of Yemen’s Houthi group.
“We are optimistic that in the coming hours, after many efforts, we will see a halt to military attacks in Yemen,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.
“Iranian proposals are not being addressed at the moment,” one Yemeni official said on condition of anonymity.
Another Yemeni official said representatives of Saleh’s party had made peace proposals to the government in exile but suggested the rebel forces would have to meet further conditions before the government would accept.
“There are contacts and initiatives for a ceasefire, mostly presented by leaders in the former president’s party,” the official told Reuters.
“But any initiative will not be accepted unless the Houthis and Saleh announced their commitment to implement the U.N. Security Council Resolution, particularly the immediate stop to attacks on Aden and the withdrawal from it,” the official added, referring to a decision reached by the United Nations last week.
The Houthis flatly rejected the contents of the resolution, which imposed an arms embargo on Houthi leaders and Saleh’s son, recognised Hadi as Yemen’s president and called for the withdrawal of the militia from the capital Sanaa and from the southern city of Aden.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said a Saudi-led offensive in Yemen was prompted by the kingdom’s failures elsewhere, causing what he called a “mental imbalance”.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday before heading to Indonesia, Rouhani mocked Saudi Arabia by calling it a country with dashed dreams in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
“All the failures have accumulated and caused mental and emotional imbalance for that country,” Rouhani said.
Iran has long accused Saudi Arabia of supporting militants, including the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, Saudis accuse Iran of supporting Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels who overran the capital and later forced the country’s Western-backed president into exile.
Tehran and the rebels deny any military links, though the Islamic Republic has provided political and humanitarian support to the group.
Clashes between rebels and pro-government forces and Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 85 people in Yemen last week.
The United Nations says hundreds of people have died and thousands of families have fled their homes since the coalition air war began on March 26 at the request of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
The UN agency for refugees says that up to 150,000 people have been displaced over the past three weeks, while more than 300,000 had already fled their homes because of unrest in past years.