Alwaght- Over the past 20 months, Yemen's Ansarullah Movement has been targeting Israeli and Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea for Tel Aviv's war and blockade on Gaza. Ansarullah's pressures on Israeli ships and ports motivated the US involvement in the Red Sea developments and launch of a bombing campaign in support of Israel. However, the US forces soon said they have halted their bombing of Yemen. Stopping the campaign was announced officially by the American President Donald Trump.
In this regard, the New York Times has announced in its latest report that by the 31st day of the bombing of Yemen by the US military, Trump, who has always been skeptical about long-term military conflicts in West Asia, had requested a progress report, but the results Trump wanted in this report had not been achieved and the US had not even established air superiority over the Yemeni army. According to the report, what Trump had learned was that after 30 days of intense attacks against Yemen, the costly US military conflict had been fruitless, and this result led to Washington announcing a halt to the pro-Israeli operation.
Alwaght has conducted an interview with a senior Ansarullah member Ahmad al-Shami, asking him about the reasons for the US retreat from its aggression on Yemen.
Alwaght: Why has the US decided to halt bombing of Yemen?
Al-Shami: The US stopping of aggression on Yemen has multiple reasons, the first of them is military defeat. During the US aggression against Yemen, American forces were targeted by several attacks from Yemen, in which their aircraft and other equipment sustained damage. Internationally, the credibility of US aircraft carriers has also declined after repeated attacks by Yemeni forces. These ships, which were once the pillar of US power and a source of fear for many countries, have now become American weakness. The cost of maintaining these aircraft carriers has placed a heavy burden on the US. In addition, the amount of ammunition consumed in missiles and defense systems, along with the psychological fatigue and human losses that the US Navy has suffered as a result of the Yemeni army's operations, have added to this heavy burden. On the other hand, the failure of the attacks, which did not affect even one percent of the Yemeni capabilities and in which US intelligence was unable to accurately identify targets in Yemen, ultimately forced Trump to resort to an agreement that would damage the minor prestige left to the US military and tarnish American reputation.
Alwaght: Given the reports of the US outlets including those of the New York Times, what damage and costs has the US sustained?
Al-Shami: The US damage is more than what is officially reported. As the New York Times admitted, only in the first month of the campaign, seven 9MQ drones were shot down. Two F-18s crashed after Ansarullah launched attacks on USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, though the Pentagon covered up the incidents with claims that these fighter jets crashed after a sharp turn of the ship.
According to recent admission by the New York Times, F-35 and F-16 jets came under attack by Yemeni air defenses and were forced to retreat. Four aircraft carriers have also been pushed out of service. Although this has not been publicly announced, their withdrawal from the operations reveals this. As for the costs of the aggression in Yemen, the Americans have admitted to $3 billion, but the real financial cost of the Yemeni war is much higher than what has been announced. According to the Intercept, the human losses of the US military in the Yemeni war remain a secret. It is worth noting that the Americans refuse to announce an unusual number of casualties, but they will eventually have to gradually reveal the figures for the casualties of Yemeni war.
Alwaght: How much will other countries present in the anti-Yemeni coalition like Britain follow the US in the ceasefire?
Al-Shami: The British involvement was limited, but I believe that the US agreement to stop its bombing also include Britain because London is follower of Washington's policy. Britain immediately stopped its operations soon after the US announced its aggression halt.
Alwaght: What is the message of stopping of Yemen operation to the Israeli leaders?
Al-Shami: Israel relies primarily on the Americans to deal with Yemen, and in fact, Tel Aviv relies on American military power to lift the blockade of its southern sea routes imposed by Yemeni forces due to genocidal Gaza war, but Israel failed to stop the Yemeni forces and has not yet been able to do anything. Of course, the fact that the US has left Israel alone in Yemen indicates Israel's further isolation. Stopping the bombing of Yemen has caused Israel more anxiety and will act as a lever of pressure against Netanyahu's war crimes. The current situation is a strategic dilemma and predicament that the Zionist enemy has fallen into and does not yet know how to get out of.
Alwaght: Would halt of the anti-Yemeni bombing have any role in Yemen's role in Gaza war? How would it affect the war and possible ceasefire?
Al-Shami: Halt of operations on Yemen and reciprocally halt of Yemeni attacks on the US ships has nothing to do with Sana'a's support to Gaza. As we saw, immediately after Trump announced quitting the campaign, Ansarallah’s hypersonic missiles were fired at Israel. In fact, the Yemeni armed forces had previously confirmed, before and after the agreement with the US, that Yemeni operations in support of Gaza would not stop unless Israel stopped its aggression and lifted its siege on Gaza, and that any escalation against Gaza would be responded to with more intense attacks by Yemen.
Alwaght: How long will the siege of Israel by Yemeni forces continue?
Al-Shami: Naval and air blockade of Israel by Yemen is contingent on the cessation of the aggression and siege of Gaza, and until the siege of Gaza is lifted, the blockade of sea routes to Israel will continue, and this is the same point that Yemeni officials have also emphasized.
Alwaght: Why has so far Israel not managed to stop Yemen operations?
Al-Shami: As you said, the Israeli enemy has not been able to stop the Yemeni attacks so far, because the divine power supports Yemen’s just position. The secret of this lies in the divine promise that “if you help God, He will help you.” The Quranic path that the Yemeni nation has taken is the basis on which all the enemies’ efforts to dissuade the Yemenis from fulfilling their duty towards the oppressed will be ineffective. Yemen has a distinct position with its unity. The leadership, people, and government of Yemen are all united and supportive of the Palestinian people and are trying with all their might to support Gaza, and this [support] cannot be undermined or destroyed. With this widespread support for the Palestinians in Yemen, it is now time to disable the enemy. The geographical distance between Yemen and Palestine, which was an obstacle to Yemen’s support for the Palestinian people, has become an advantage for the Yemeni front. Also, the missile technology and capabilities that Yemen has achieved, by the grace of God, have revealed the fragility of Israel’s defense systems. On the other hand, Israel had counted on the Americans to stop the Yemeni attacks, but this Israeli plan also failed, and now Israel faces a deadlock and has no choice but to stop the genocide.
Alwaght: Do Yemeni forces have new missile capabilities against Israel yet to be unveiled? Do they have other military and non-military operations against the Israeli forces?
Al-Shami: Yemen's industries are witnessing a remarkable technological jump and Palestine-2 hypersonic missiles bears witness to this fact. I think that Yemen is moving the path of developing its missile capabilities and Yemeni armed forces will continue their missile capabilities until defeat of the enemies. There are more unannounced Yemeni military surprises to come. Given the steps taken by the Yemenis and the five stages that the Yemeni army took until the recent announcement of the aerial blockade, these steps surprised both friends and foes, and no one expected them. Accordingly, we can say that there are strategic options that the wise Yemeni leadership, represented by Sayyid Abdul Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, has. He is the one who turned the tide in the battle and has the wisdom to confuse the enemies and break their deterrence.
