YAF redrew Red Sea security, eliminated Zionist devilry: Sanaa DefMin

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Yemeni Armed Forces - Military media
25 Feb 2024 19:04
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Sanaa's Minister of Defense has stressed that US-UK dominance in the Red Sea is "unwelcome".

Major General Nasser al-Aatifi speaks during the closing ceremony for a reserve officers military course at the headquarters of the fifth military sector, in Hodeidah, Yemen, on February 25, 2024. (SABA)

Maritime security in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea have been completely "reformulated" after the elimination of "Zionist devilry" in these waterways, Minister of Defense in Sanna, Major General Nasser al-Aatifi, underlined during a closing statement he delivered at a reserve officers military course.

The Minister stressed that the Yemeni Armed Forces' Navy had drawn a new defacto equation in the region, which "brought back the Red and Arabian Seas to their true identity that had been [eliminated] by Zionists [in previous years]."

The top defense official affirmed that vessels passing through the waterways will be awarded safety of navigation as long as they are not affiliated with "Israel" and "do not serve its agenda."

He stressed that Sanaa is committed to "all international conventions and covenants," given that they do not encroach on Yemen's sovereignty.

Al-Aatifi echoed statements released by other Yemeni officials who stressed that the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue to launch naval operations and target Israeli military assets until the "Zionist massacres in Gaza" are stopped.

In this context, the Minister of Defense pointed to the United States' role in supporting the Israeli regime in its genocide against Palestinians. He added that the Palestinian people "are our brothers [as we hold] geographic, humanitarian, and Islamic [ties with them]."

"America, London, and Israel need to recognize that the strategy of [disregarding Yemen's location near the Red Sea]and asserting dominance over the seas has become unacceptable and unwelcome," al-Aatifi concluded.

Yemen has the right to respond to US-UK-led aggression

On his part, the head of Sanaa's negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdul Salam, condemned the continuous American and British airstrikes on Yemen. The official said that the strikes are a clear "aggression" that violates "the sovereignty of an independent state and [occur] within the context of futile attempts to hinder Yemen from maintaining its supportive stance towards the resilience of the Palestinian people in Gaza."

"We affirm Yemen's unwavering humanitarian and religious commitment alongside Gaza by prohibiting [the navigation of] Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of the occupied Palestinian territories. Yemen has every right to respond to the ongoing American-British aggression on our beloved country," Abdul Salam posted on X.