Houthi official claims US offered to recognize terror government in Yemen

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the remarks "a total fabrication."

 A poster of Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, is held by a protester as others hold up their weapons during a rally held to show support to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Sanaa, Yemen July 26, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
A poster of Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, is held by a protester as others hold up their weapons during a rally held to show support to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Sanaa, Yemen July 26, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

The US offered to recognize the Houthi government in Sanaa in a bid to stop the Yemeni terror group's attacks, a senior Houthi official said on Monday, in remarks that a US official said were false.

The Houthi official's remarks came a day after a ballistic missile from the Iran-aligned group reached central Israel for the first time, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say Israel would inflict a "heavy price" on them.

"There is always communication after every operation we conduct," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV. "These calls are based on either threats or presenting some temptations, but they have given up to achieve any accomplishment in that direction."

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the remarks "a total fabrication."

Houthi attacks

Al-Bukhaiti said the calls after attacks included some from the US and the United Kingdom indirectly through mediators and that the threats included direct US military intervention against countries that intervene militarily "in support of Gaza."

 A protester holds up a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh at a rally by protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen August 9, 2024.  (credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)
A protester holds up a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh at a rally by protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen August 9, 2024. (credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)

Beside attacks on Israel, the Yemeni group has also continued to launch attacks on ships they say are linked or bound to Israel in support of Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.

The Houthis have damaged more than 80 ships in missile and drone attacks since November, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least three crew members.

The war in the Gaza Strip started after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel which left 1,200 people killed and around 250 foreign and Israelis taken hostage.

Yemen has been embroiled in years of civil war. In 2014, the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, and ousted the internationally recognized government. In January, the United States put the Houthis back on its list of terrorist groups.

 


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