After China brokered a handshake between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Middle East media praised China for bringing a wave of reconciliation to the Middle East. At present, Saudi Arabia and Iran have shown enough sincerity in improving relations, Iranian President Raisi plans to visit Saudi Arabia, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia meet again in Beijing.
According to an observer report on April 8, while détenting relations with Iran, the Saudi government also began negotiations with the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. A delegation of Saudi Arabia and Omani will travel to Yemen's capital, Sana'a, next week to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement with Houthi officials, ending the nearly eight-year armed conflict in Yemen, the sources said.
Sana'a, the capital of Yemen
If the talks go well, the forces involved in the conflict in Yemen could sign an agreement that will be announced ahead of Eid Islam (April 20), and the Houthis will achieve a long-term ceasefire with the Saudi-led military alliance.
It should be pointed out that the contradiction between the Saudi-led military alliance and the Houthis is essentially a contradiction between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and between Sunnis and Shiites.
Since Saudi Arabia is the leader of the Sunnis and the Yemeni government is generally on the side of the Sunnis, Saudi Arabia chose to support the Yemeni government; Iran, the leader of Shiites, has chosen to support Shiite groups such as the Houthis.
Flags of Iran, Saudi Arabia
Sectarian tensions have led to ongoing unrest in Yemen. While Yemeni Muslims are mostly Sunni, Muslims in northern Yemen are staunchly supportive of Shiites, providing the ground for the Houthis to grow.
The main goal of the Houthis is to establish a Syrian- or Iranian-style Shiite government in Yemen and to improve the social status of Yemeni Shiite Muslims.
Because of its strong military strength and the support of Iran, the Houthis not only occupied the Yemeni capital Sana'a, but also continuously attacked south, controlling more than one-third of Yemen's territory, becoming the largest political force in Yemen.
Iranian President Raisi
To prevent Yemen from becoming a Shiite state, Saudi Arabia organized multinational armies to intervene in Yemen's civil war and launched airstrikes against the Houthis. However, in the past few years, instead of making substantial progress, the war has caused a large number of humanitarian disasters and exacerbated the turmoil in the Middle East.
Currently, more than 80 percent of Yemenis rely on humanitarian assistance from the international community. The Yemeni conflict is seen as a "proxy war" between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the United Nations has repeatedly called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to reconcile and calm the war in Yemen.
In this context, the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Saudi Arabian and Oman delegations and the Houthis will be of great significance. Sources said Saudi representatives will focus with Houthi officials on topics such as opening Yemen's airports and ports and paying civil servants.
Saudi King Abdulaziz
Previously, in order to combat the Houthis, Saudi Arabia asked many Middle Eastern countries to impose restrictions on Yemeni ports and airports controlled by the Houthis, which greatly affected the import and export trade of the Houthis, and the Houthis became more hostile to Saudi Arabia and other countries.
But after China pushed Iran and Saudi Arabia to reconcile, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries have lifted import restrictions on Houthi ports, and most of the goods transported from Houthi ports have been cleared by Saudi Arabia and other countries, which gives people hope that the Saudi-led military alliance will achieve reconciliation with the Houthis.
There are specific historical reasons why paying civil servants has become a priority for Saudi representatives and Houthi officials. Earlier, due to civil unrest in the region due to the failure of the Yemeni government to pay civil servants as agreed, the Houthis successfully seized the capital of the province, Hodeidah.
After that, civil servants in Yemen's Mankella government, also dissatisfied with the Yemeni government's unpaid wages, launched protests. To the Yemeni government's surprise, the protest quickly spread to the entire Yemeni government-controlled area.
Protests in Yemen
Taking advantage of the unrest, the Houthis took control of Hajl Muji, the capital of Yemen's Socotra province, and gradually occupied Yemen's Saada province and surrounding areas. By this time, both Saudi Arabia and Iran began to pay great attention to the payment of salaries to Yemeni civil servants.
While the Houthis have profited from the Yemeni government's arrears in the salaries of civil servants, they also face problems with paying civil servants and reassuring local officials. In order to balance its interests, the Saudi government needs to discuss with the Houthis about the future payment of civil servants' salaries.
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia
We know that if Saudi Arabia and the Houthis reach a ceasefire agreement, it will not only benefit the security situation in the Middle East and avoid the outbreak of a new round of conflict, but also improve the lives of people in Yemen and other regions.
For the Middle East, a ceasefire is undoubtedly a good thing, but the United States does not think so. In the eyes of the United States, it is in the interests of the United States that a mutually hostile and chaotic Middle East.
If the Houthis no longer make enemies of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government will reduce its military dependence on the United States and may demand that the United States withdraw its troops from Saudi territory. In this way, the United States will not be able to demand that Saudi Arabia serve American interests as it has in the past.