Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Houthis claim US offered to recognize its government if it stopped maritime attacks

CAIRO, Egypt — A senior member of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group claimed on Monday that the US had offered to recognize its government in Sanaa in a bid to stop its attacks on maritime shipping, in remarks that a US official said were false.

The Houthi official’s remarks came a day after a ballistic missile fired from Yemen reached central Israel for the first time, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn Israel would inflict a “heavy price” on the rebel group.

“There is always communication after every operation we conduct,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement’s political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV. “These calls are based on either threats or presenting some temptations, but they have given up to achieve any accomplishment in that direction.”

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the remarks “a total fabrication.”

Separately, a US State Department official said: “Houthi propaganda is rarely true or newsworthy. Coverage like this puts a guise of credibility on their misinformation.” READ MORE