The fighting in Yemen is not a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S said Sunday.
“I would describe it as a war of necessity,” said Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir said on CBS. “We had no choice. We tried every possible way to avoid it.”
Houthi rebels, who are Shiite Muslims and are backed by Iran, have overrun parts of Yemen. Saudi Arabia, with a coalition of nine other Arab countries, has launched a military campaign against the rebels to restore stability.
“They continued to take over the country,” Al-Jubeir said. “When they were virtually about to take over the city … we had to step in.”
Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes against the Houthis but has no immediate plans to send in ground troops.
The nuclear negotiations between the U.S. with five other nations and Iran have complicated the issue.
“From the Saudi perspective, these are tough times,” former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill said on NBC. “They see this deal with Iran, and what they see is something that goes beyond the nuclear deal. They see some kind of emerging or re-emerging partnership with Iran.”
While the U.S. negotiates with Tehran on its nuclear capabilities, it is also backing Iranian militias as they fight the Islamic State in Iraq. At the same time, the U.S. is simultaneously supporting opposition to some Iranian-backed forces in Syria.
The U.S. has pulled its troops out of Yemen due to the destabilization of the country.
