Two western experts reveal to Newsyemen the reasons for Iran's discomfort with the Riyadh agreement
English - Wednesday 13 November 2019 الساعة 01:45 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
Two Western experts believe that Iran's discomfort with the Riyadh agreement is due to the nature of Iran's goals and priorities by deepening the division within the legitimacy camp and its Saudi-led coalition.
They stressed that Iranian interests and objectives contradict the Yemeni consensus and the cohesion of the Saudi-UAE alliance in particular
"Iran is concerned that Saudi Arabia will lead the mediation process" to reach a final settlement in Yemen, said Samuel Ramani, a British expert on Middle East and Russia.
He added "Iran also fears that the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council will unite in the anti-Houthi coalition, forcing the Houthis to; either the war, and Houthis will not withstand, or forcing them to peace through negotiations.
Finally, says Samuel Ramani, "I heard that Iran sees Saudi Arabia as having a hand in the protests of Iraq and Lebanon."
"This is exaggerated by Iran, but Tehran looking for a long war in Yemen as a way to keep Saudi Arabia under control and retaliation against Riyadh."
He believes that Iran "does not welcome any quick step towards peace at this time, despite its resonant rhetoric about how the war should end so that the Gulf is safe."
Iran "wants to fragment and split the anti-Houthi coalition," said Bruce Riedel, a former US intelligence officer who served as an adviser to four former presidents. Therefore, it does not like to see agreement or consensus.
"As (Iran) wants the Saudis and Emiratis to be at odds," he said.
"The more there is a split within the anti-Houthi coalition, the better for Tehran," Riedel said.
