Al-Usboo [Archives:2005/847/Press Review]

archive
June 2 2005

26 May 2005
Main headlines

– FM al-Qirbi denies Iran's involvement in al-Houthi

– Journalists set fire to copies of al-Bilad newspaper in expression of their solidarity with journalists al-Bukari and Hujairah

– Houthi backs down from enmity to America

– Sheikh al-Ahmar: The government opens competition of mobile phones and monopolies the fixed phone

The newspaper's political editor has written saying that the officials of Yemen have many precautions against defining certain accusations on involvement of Iran in supporting al-Houthi. A Yemeni official told Al-Isbou newspaper Yemen's denial about Iran involvement in backing al-Houthi but affirmed the existence of external support.

The Yemeni foreign minister Abubakr al-Qirbi, who paid a visit to Iran last Tuesday, said he was carrying a message from President Ali Abdullah Saleh to the Iranian president Mohammed Khatami.

Though, sources confirmed the outbreak of a Yemeni-Iranian difference because of information about an Iranian involvement in supporting al-Houthi and that the Iranian ambassador to Yemen had visited Hussein al- Houthi I Saada mountains before he was killed and met with his followers without warning the Yemeni authorities. Nevertheless, the sources said that Yemen has calculations and some observers see that Yemen's caution from hurling accusations at Iran is because of the desire of not escalating the sectarian aspect in the latest problems in Saada. And due to its religious weight, Iran has the capability of mustering the Shiites in the Islamic world.

According to the Yemeni foreign minister, sources of support are personalities and groups, denying that countries as source of support but he did not define those groups or personalities.

Those sources do not see in that as a denial of the Yemeni authorities' possession of indications on Iran's involvement, but that evidence are seen by the regime as could be used in a better way, such as Iran's intervention to stop the sectarian mobilization that is aroused by continuation of confrontations with al Zaidi sect extremists.
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