Saudi Arabia denies WSJ report claiming Houthis demanded $51bn to halt hostilities

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>Saudi Arabia has denied a <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-has-no-easy-choices-as-it-weighs-how-to-combat-houthi-threat-a4adc358">report</a> by the US-based <em>Wall Street Journal</em> (<em>WSJ</em>) that Yemen’s Houthis had demanded $51 billion from kingdom in return for a “negotiated halt” to the ongoing hostilities between the two sides.</p> <p>A report by the <em>Journal</em> claimed on Thursday that the kingdom had approached the Houthis “to see what it would take to arrive at a negotiated halt to the hostilities”, and the group demanded $51bn in return. The report, citing unnamed sources, further claimed that the Houthis would want to be “officially recognised … as the rulers of Yemen”.</p> <p>But Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Rayed Krimly “categorically” denied the claims about “demands made by this militia”.</p> <p>“All of this is pure fabrication by the writers or their alleged sources,” he said in a post on X.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/Rayedkrimly/status/2118418522581635332?s=20'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/Rayedkrimly/status/2118418522581635332?s=20"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>The Saudi official further stated that “these militias turned against the Yemeni government, caused famine among the Yemeni people, and dragged Yemen into conflicts and agendas that do not serve Yemen and its people”.</p> <p>“They attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea waterways, civilian and economic targets, and rejected all peace efforts. We also remind the writers that Yemen has a recognised government,” he said.</p> <p>The <em>WSJ</em> report and the Saudi denial has come amid renewed hostilities between Riyadh and the Houthis, linked to the larger Middle East conflict.</p> <p>The Middle East war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1976839"><u>launched attacks</u></a> on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the region. Then in July, the Houthis triggered a return to hostilities in Yemen when they let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.</p> <p>The government retaliated by <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2015162"><u>striking</u></a> the airport, with ensuing exchanges unravelling a 2022 truce in Yemen’s long-running civil war. Since then, the Houthis have declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2017740"><u>attacking its tankers</u></a> in the Red Sea, as well as the Saudi territory.</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.