Saudi anger over the shipment of "Kornet" pushes Oman to discuss strengthening customs control mechanisms with Yemen
English - Saturday 26 March 2022 الساعة 02:33 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The head of the Customs Authority, Abdul Hakim Al-Qubati, discussed with his Omani counterpart, Brigadier Saeed Al-Ghaithi, strengthening customs control mechanisms, in conjunction with what Western reports revealed about Saudi anger over the incident of seizing a shipment of anti-armor missiles at Shahn port in Mahra coming from Oman.
According to what was published by the official "Saba" agency, the meeting that took place in Cairo between Al-Qubati and his Omani counterpart discussed strengthening customs control mechanisms and reducing any imbalances and facilitating customs procedures at customs ports between the two countries.
The meeting, which came on the sidelines of the 42nd meeting of the heads of customs in the Arab countries held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, was agreed to enhance cooperation and joint coordination in the customs fields, and to set up a mechanism for the automatic exchange of information between the common ports, the most important of which is electronic competition, according to the agency.
The meeting comes about two weeks after Yemeni customs at Shahn port in Al-Mahra governorate seized 52 Russian anti-armor missiles "Kornet" coming from Oman and on their way to the Houthi militia.
The incident came just days after a UN Security Council resolution obligating UN member states to prevent weapons reaching the Houthi militia, which the resolution described as terrorist.
The French website Intelligence Online, which specializes in intelligence affairs, revealed that the incident greatly angered the Saudi side and led to strained relations between the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency and the Omani Royal Office, which is responsible for security and intelligence affairs.
The report, which was published by the site, on Thursday, revealed that Saudi Arabia had summoned the Omani intelligence chief, Muhammad Al-Noamani, to Riyadh to provide explanations, after he pledged to his Saudi counterpart, Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan, to strengthen border control; In order to thwart arms deliveries.
He added that Al-Humaidan demanded Al-Nomani to reveal the loopholes in his Border Intelligence Service, which led to the continuation of arms transfers, while the Omani intelligence official could only suggest an investigation to determine who was responsible for that incident.
The French website quoted its sources as saying that there is a belief in the Saudi General Intelligence that “the Omani State Security Service, which runs counter-espionage and counter-terrorism operations led by al-Nomani, is still infiltrated by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which limits its ability - or even its will — to reduce arms supplies across the border."
