US seeks to control Yemen’s Red Sea coast: Activist

The United States seeks to take control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and use it as a base to conduct direct attacks on the Arab country 19 months after Saudi Arabia began its aggression against its impoverished neighbor, says an activist and political commentator.

“So I think the first goal of the United States Navy is the control of Yemeni islands in the Red Sea, and… it will be a base for American troops that I think will come to station in those islands and then they will conduct attacks on Yemen's coastal line,” Hussain al-Bukhaiti told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

He also stated that Saudi Arabia's main objective is taking control over the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah and the coastal line of Ta'izz near Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

“This was the main goal from the beginning, because the Saudis have failed to weaken the security situation in Hudaydah. Now the United States has stepped in to finish the plan, because the Saudis have miserably failed in their effort,” he added.

The leader of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, has warned that the US military is preparing the ground for an act of aggression, saying the nation and armed forces should stay vigilant and stand fully ready to face the invaders.

On Thursday, the US hit three mobile radar sites on Yemen’s Red Sea coast after claiming that the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, had come under attack from Yemen for the second time in four days.

Yemeni officials have rejected the allegations as "unfounded" and aimed at providing a pretext for the intelligence and logistics support which the US has provided to Saudi Arabia in its military campaign.

Bukhaiti further noted that the US claims on targeting the American destroyer is just a “total lie” to interfere directly in the Yemen war. He also mentioned any aggression on US part might bring a “threat” to the international shipping line.

The activist further noted the US is well aware that the Yemenis are capable of taking the country out of Saudi Arabia’s control, therefore it is becoming more “aggressive” against the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

However, he added, the Houthi Ansarullah fighters have been “really patient” with the Saudi aggression especially at the border areas.

“So I am sure if there will be any attack or any kind of invasion on Yemen, this will be the final straw because Yemenis will not leave the Saudis and they will attack and target Saudi oil fields,” he said.  

Elsewhere in his remarks, Bukhaiti argued that Washington uses the claim of the attacks against its warship to cover up the Saudi carnage in Yemen, adding that Washington's policy in the Middle East is “sickening and dirty”.

The US has supported the Saudi military and its allies with aerial refueling and targeting assistance during the war on Yemen.

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