US threatens to thwart peace plan for Yemen amid Red Sea operations
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Diplomats suggest that the US has threatened to designate the Ansar Allah movement as a terrorist organization, thwarting efforts for regional peace.
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Members of the Yemeni Armed Forces' special forces seize the Israeli-owned Galaxy Ledaer on November 19, 2023 (AP)
The United States has reportedly stepped in again to hurdle Yemen's peace process, a report published by The Guardian reveals.
The British newspaper, citing unnamed diplomats, said that the US has threatened the Sanaa government that its negotiated peace plan with Saudi Arabia, which has been handed to the UN peace envoy, will fail if the Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) attacks on ships heading to "Israel" continue.
After a brutal 9-year war on Yemen, which is still ongoing, a three-phase peace plan has been negotiated between the Sanaa government and Riyadh, according to The Guardian.
Washington, however, is threatening to designate the Ansar Allah movement as a terrorist organization which would halt the application of this plan, according to the diplomats cited by the British newspaper. Although successive US administrations have led an onslaught on Resistance factions in the region, no US administration has taken such measures against the Yemeni Resistance movement.
Read more: Israeli media: KSA unlikely to cooperate with US against Yemen
US indecisive in Yemen
The US, feeling the pressure of Yemen's response to Gaza's call to action, would be going into unprecedented territories by doing so, highlighting yet again its destructive policies in the region. According to The Guardian, there is pressure in Congress to designate Ansar Allah "as a foreign terrorist organization."
Concurrently, Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, has recently met with the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and has also discussed the US' response to the YAF's operations with Saudi officials.
Designating Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization would block financial transfers meant to pay Yemeni government employees, one of the Sanaa government's main demands for peace with the Saudi-led coalition. Moreover, the action would also tighten the blockade on the country whose airports and seaports have also been constricted.
However, the US has stepped into untested waters, as its threats target a government and a Resistance movement that have shown unwavering support to the Palestinian people and their Resistance. The US risks the burial of a plan that would see major steps toward peace in the region, including the withdrawal of occupying forces from Yemen and a signing ceremony between parties witnessed by other countries.
Read more: Yemeni threats disrupt about 85% of port’s profits: 'Eilat' Port Dir.
Ships to Israeli ports blocked
Responding to the calls of the Yemeni people and Ansar Allah's leader, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the Yemeni Armed Forces expanded their pool of targets to include all ships heading to Israeli ports passing through the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea.
Earlier on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, confirmed that the YAF's Navy had targeted a Norweigian-flagged oil tanker with an anti-ship missile.
The Strinda was en route to an Israeli port in occupied Palestine, a destination that prompted the YAF to take action and strike the vessel. This came after the YAF's numerous warnings were issued to the vessel's crew, but were disregarded.
"In support of our Palestinian people, amid their grave plight, who are currently facing death, destruction, and siege in the Gaza Strip, and in response to the calls of the free people of Yemen and the free people of our Ummah, the naval forces have executed a top-tier military operation against the Norwegian 'Strinda' ship," Saree announced.
Reiterating the YAF's previous announcements, Saree said, "The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target any ship that violates the commands announced in previous statements," he stressed.
