Senior Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Members: 'We Are Ready To Teach The Enemies The Harshest And Strongest Blows;' Operation Prosperity Guardian Is 'Genocide Guardians;' U.S. Should 'Dismantle Zionist Entity'

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On December 27, 2023, the heads of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement armed forces and security bodies convened what they called " an exceptional meeting" in the city of Al-Hudayah on the coast of the Red Sea. At the meeting, participants warned the U.S. and its allies against "the folly of militarizing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden." Ansar Allah Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Al-'Atifi, who delivered a speech at the meeting, asserted that the armed forces of Yemen are ready "to teach the enemies the harshest and strongest blows." Another senior Houthi official posted a message on the X platform in which he referred to Operation Prosperity Guardian (against Houthi attacks in the Red Sea) as "the Genocide Guardian Alliance" and claimed that its establishment by the U.S. "is a disgrace in the history of America." He also called on the American government to "dismantle the Zionist entity."

The following are translated details from the statements referred to above:

On December 27, 2023, Ansarollah.com, the official website of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, reported on the convening of "an exceptional meeting," attended by the heads of its military and security branches, to discuss recent developments in their region and "the American-Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people." A long list of senior Houthi civilian and military government officials attended the meeting, among them: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance Dr. Rashid Abu Luhoum, Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Al-'Atifi, Interior Minister Major General Abd Al-Karim Al-Houthi, Chief of Security and Intelligence Major General Abd Al-Hakim Al-Khiwani, Chief of General Staff Major General Muhammad Al-Ghamari, Commander of the Naval Forces Major General Muhammad Abd Al-Nabi, Commander of the Central Military Region Major General Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Houthi, Commander of the Fifth Military Region Major General Yousuf Al-Madani, Deputy Interior Minister Major General Abd Al-Majid Al-Murtada, Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior Major General Abdallah Al-Hadi, and head of the Coast Guard Major General Shaher Al-Qahoum.

According to the Ansarollah.com website, those present at the meeting stressed the readiness of their people to carry out the orders of "the commander of the revolution," 'Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, and to deter anyone who considers diverting Yemen from its firm and principled stand on behalf of "the oppressed Palestinian people." They warned the U.S. and its allies against "the folly of militarizing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and harming international navigation in service of the occupying Israeli entity." Defense Minister Al-'Atifi asserted that the armed forces of Yemen are prepared "to teach the enemies the harshest and strongest blows if their crimes and siege on the Palestinian people continue." He also stated that Yemen has "many strategic options that it will not hesitate to utilize when it is forced to do so."

The report appeared with photographs of the participants at the meeting.[1]

Also on December 27, Houthi Deputy Minister of Information and head of the Houthi Saba news agency, Naser Al-Din Amer, posted a photograph from the meeting on his X account. The picture shows senior Houthi officials and a map of the Middle East on the wall behind them. The words at the top of the map, which Amer circled in red, read: "The American bases in the Middle East." The comment he posted with the photograph states: "There is a message inside the red circle."[2]

On the following day, in a post on his X account, Houthi political bureau member Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti addressed the American government in English, and offered it the following advice: "People in this world have become more aware of the danger of your immoral foreign policies, and therefore it is no longer in your interest to move to please the Zionist lobby and arms companies at the expense of the security and stability of the world. Also, Yemen, which has long suffered from your crimes, will not stand by and watch any violations you commit against any people after today, no matter the sacrifices it costs us. Your establishment of the Genocide Guardians Alliance [i.e. Operation Prosperity Guardian] is a disgrace in the history of America that will not be erased except by dismantling the Zionist entity planted in Palestine in a peaceful manner. You are the only party capable of accomplishing this mission without the need to shed more blood. The Palestinian resistance has no problem with the Jews who want to live in peace in its country under an independent Palestinian state."[3]

It should be noted that since the establishment in mid-December of the multi-national maritime force, led by the U.S., senior Houthi officials have often threatened the force and accused it of supporting Israeli "aggression" against the Gaza Strip and of endangering international marine traffic in the Red Sea.[4]