Sanaa attacks Riyadh, reveals Saudi Arabia’s expansion project in Yemen
SANAA, Jan. 11 (YPA) – Sanaa stepped up its political rhetoric towards Riyadh on Sunday, denouncing what it described as the existential risks posed by the Saudi project in Yemen.
The Saudi accusations were aimed at pursuing an expansionist agenda that undermines Yemeni sovereignty and fuels the conflict under misleading pretexts, while, according to sources in Sanaa, the true nature and hidden dimensions of Saudi operations are becoming increasingly clear in many Yemeni provinces.
In a strongly worded statement, Muhammad al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansarallah’s political bureau, launched an unprecedented criticism of Saudi Arabia, accusing it of serving the Zionist agenda under the guise of religion.
He described Saudi Arabia as the “main historical enemy” of Yemen, contrasting the long-term expansionist nature of the Saudi project with the limited direct ambitions of the UAE.
The Yemeni official stressed that Saudi operations under religious cover are more destructive and deceptive than the UAE’s secular approach, which represents a systematic effort to reshape the public perception of Riyadh in Yemen.
He also criticized local pro-coalition actors who are trying to portray Saudi Arabia as the” savior” of the UAE, dismissing such claims as frivolous and superficial.
Al-Bukhaiti denied the Saudi version that its campaign against the Southern Transitional Council (STC) was aimed at preserving the unity of Yemen, explaining that the intervention was motivated by protecting its borders after it felt that the STC’s movements in Hadramout and Mahra pose a threat to its security, reviewing Riyadh’s ambitions in sparsely populated areas.
Challenging the official Saudi narrative, he asserted that Riyadh’s moves against the UAE-backed STC were not aimed at preserving Yemen’s unity, but were motivated by security concerns after the STC’s activities in Hadramout and Mahra were considered a threat to Saudi borders.
He described Saudi ambition as targeting sparsely populated areas while using the UAE as a tool in its broader strategy.
Al-Bukhaiti also held Saudi Arabia responsible for dragging Abu Dhabi and Sudan into the war in Yemen, and for the humanitarian crisis suffered by the Yemeni people.
He rejected claims that the operations in Hadramout and Mahra were aimed at protecting civilians, noting that the campaign was carried out under a Saudi-Emirati agreement with the so-called “hotels government and the Southern Transitional Council,” even with Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Presidential Leadership Council, admitting to the arrangement.
According to al-Bukhaiti, the failure of the STC to fully implement its withdrawal facilitated the deployment of the Saudi-backed “Dara al-Watan” forces in these provinces.
AA