Yemen has a sufficient amount of oil and natural gas resources for both domestic demand and exports. The US and its Western allies are in dire need of getting their hands on amid shortages in the wake of the Ukraine war.
In his latest speech, the leader of Yemen’s ruling Ansarallah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, revealed that Washington had established military bases in the provinces of Hadhramaut and al-Mahra in eastern Yemen.
He added that the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, accompanied by an American diplomat, landed at the headquarters of the US-Saudi military coalition base in al-Mahra.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper and the US ambassador to the Saudi-led government in southern Aden travelled to the city of al-Ghaydah in Mahra governorate, in a flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty.
According to reports the US officials were accompanied by a delegation of top US military officials at al-Ghaydah airport, which has been turned into a military base for American, British and Israeli forces on the Arabian Sea.
They also held talks with the pro-US-Saudi coalition and self-proclaimed governor Mohammed bin Yasser to discuss maritime issues.
It may be recalled that since 2018, the airport has been closed to the people of Mahra and has been occupied by Commander of the Coast Guard with the US-Saudi coalition that has been indiscriminately bombing Yemen since March 2015.
The US
military visit came after a meeting held by bin Yasser with the US official in
the Saudi capital Riyadh last January, in a bid to carry out new missions for
the US forces occupying al-Ghaydah airport, under the pretext of combating
smuggling and confronting the potential dangers of terrorism.
The eastern oil-rich Yemeni provinces of Mahra, Hadramout, Shabwa and Marib have recently become the focus of the ambitions of the occupying countries of the US, UK and France, with the aim of controlling the sources of oil and gas.
US and European countries intensified their movements in the eastern provinces of Yemen after the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine last year, and have shown great interest in these regions.
The latest developments come as the West faces oil and gas shortages in the wake of its sanctions on the Russian energy sector following the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
Saudi media have confirmed from sources in the US Department of Defense that Washington has retained two CIA military bases in areas under the control of pro-US-Saudi coalition government, including in the city of Mukalla in Hadhramaut governorate.
While the West is claiming that its presence in the region is aimed to deepen bilateral and multilateral maritime cooperation, the evidence on the ground proves quite the opposite.
Yemen considers the presence of foreign forces on its territory as an occupation, and this leads to the question of the reason behind this exceptional concentration of foreign military bases in the country.
Yemen is facing a scenario similar to what is happening in northeastern Syria, where US has been plundering the country’s oil to the tune of billions of dollars.
Al-Houthi says the US has been working actively to end the talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen in Oman intended to end the war.
"The US seeks to obstruct the Omani efforts, which is to distance the coalition from any agreement or understanding, and this is totally unacceptable," he said.
Experts say this makes sense as reaching a comprehensive political settlement means an end to the war. And ending the war would require the exit of all foreign forces led by the American and British militaries from the eastern and southern Yemeni coasts.
For this reason and other reasons as well, the US and the UK are working to impede the talks and obstruct reaching any political settlement.
Likewise, Yemen’s geographical location is one of the most important in the West Asian region. It has a large front on the Red Sea and has a large gateway to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea that extends to other regions. The Gulf is what America needs to build military bases and serve its other sinister goals.
The nature of the relations between the western-occupied regions in Yemen, and between Saudi Arabia and the UAE is important as well. The main point here is that the puppet authority in Yemen does not care about the issue of sovereignty.
If the authority put in place by the US and its regional allies had an independent voice, then there would be no occupation, military and naval bases, blockade or plans to seize the country’s natural resources.
The existing government is contributing to the violation of Yemen’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Analysts have said that the foreign military bases, which have been listed by the leaders of Ansarallah as areas of occupation, will possibly be targeted to create realistic equations.
Others agree that after showing impressive steadfastness in the face of eight years of war, it would be natural for the Yemeni forces to have the ability to target foreign military bases as has been reflected over the years.
With the US putting the brakes on talks in Oman, Sana’a says its military capabilities are growing, and all branches of the armed forces are prepared for the next stage that could open the door to the option of a broad military operation.
All of US President Joe Biden’s boasting about ending support for Saudi military operations in Yemen, and the movement in the US Congress that pushed for an end to military aid to Riyadh has now turned out to be inaccurate, and if anything it was just an effort to deflect the growing global condemnation.
What is happening now in al-Mahra and Hadramout is clear evidence of the ongoing interest of the US in not only its military presence but also the expansion of it, one year after the Ukraine war.
Analysts have pointed out that Saudi Arabia has practically taken full control of al-Mahra in cooperation with the US and local militias, and there are many reports citing Israeli naval cooperation as well, in addition to the US cooperation with the two parties.
But judging by the past few years, Yemeni forces have proved capable of confronting threats and turning their chants and slogans into extraordinary retaliatory operations.
“The level of our military capabilities has evolved compared to the beginning of the aggression” al-Houthi warned.
"If we look at the situation today as compared to the beginning of the aggression, and to previous years, there is a major difference in the level of Yemeni military capabilities," the leader of the Ansarallah movement explained.
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