Latest news with #MoammarAl-Eryani
Yemen Online
4 days ago
- Business
- Yemen Online
Houthi militia trying to mislead Yemeni people over public servant retirees' salary payments
The Iran-backed Houthi militia is trying to mislead Yemenis about payments of public servant retirees' salaries, despite their decision to suspend them, starting with its coup against the state, looting public treasury reserves, and aborting all government initiatives to pay them regularly, Yemen's Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani said. He added that the government prioritizes payment of salaries, especially in areas under Houthis control and strives to find practical solutions as it considers it a humanitarian priority and a public responsibility, and has exerted great efforts, which clashed with the Houthi militia in many instances. 'In 2019, in order to preserve public servants and regularity of work of vital services, the government paid salaries of more than 120,000 civil servants and retirees in Houthi-controlled areas, including the health sector, and 50 percent of higher education employees, universities in Hodeidah,' he said in a series of tweets. Al-Eryani said the government also led negotiations with the international community to allocate part of the humanitarian aid to a fund that covers the gap, especially in the education sector. 'In January 2020, the Houthi militia imposed a monetary split by preventing circulation of currency issued by the head office of the Central Bank of Yemen in the interim capital, Aden, which disrupted payment of salaries by the government in militia controllled areas, after being circulated for a whole year,' he added. 'In return, the Houthi militia doubled taxes, customs and zakat on citizens and the private sector, profiting from the black market for oil derivatives, as an example, according to an expert group report, (while) value of tax and other revenues of the Houthis in 2019 amounted to more than $1.8 billion,' he also said. As independent estimates indicate, the sums obtained by the Houthi militia during the year 2020 exceeded $4 billion, amounts equal to several times the bill for the salaries of state employees and retirees in areas under their control, Al-Eryani said. 'Since the truce in April 2022, a doubled number of oil derivatives ships arrived at Hodeidah port, with tax and customs revenues exceeding 213 billion Yemeni riyals ($851 million), looted by the Houthis and hindered discussions to establish disbursing them to cover part of civil servants salaries and retirees in its areas,' he said. The UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg proposed paying salaries of civil servants in areas controlled by the Houthis, but the militia rejected the proposal, and demanded payment of the 2014 budget, which included salaries of military and security militia members who replaced state staff, he noted. 'The Houthi militia claims that before the war, oil revenues represented 70 percent of the budget, ignoring that these revenues declined by 75 percent due to the war it imposed, and caused the departure of companies and foreign investments, and halted oil production, exploration, and exporting liquefied natural gas.' While the state's oil revenues in 2014 exceeded $5 billion, these revenues declined to nearly $1 billion, he said, adding that the government is keen to address this issue according to controls that ensure sustainable salaries and the treatment of revenues, including Hodiedah ports and tax revenues in Houthi areas, and ensuring a clear role for the international community to fund salary deficits and address the monetary split imposed by the Houthis.
Asharq Al-Awsat
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities
The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities. Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden." US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities. In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah. "Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,' Al-Eryani said. The minister also spoke of "surprises' that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks. Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been 'very successful militarily.' 'We've really damaged them,' he said, adding that 'we've gotten many of their leaders and their experts.' The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes 'as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes." Last week, Britain's The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US. Al-Eryani called for 'keeping military, political, and economic pressure' on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for 'supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory." Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters. Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country's armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations. Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.
Shafaq News
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iran rejects claims of IRGC involvement in Yemen
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, an Iranian news agency dismissed reports alleging the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel in recent US airstrikes targeting Houthi (Ansarallah) forces in Yemen. Tasnim, a media outlet closely affiliated with the IRGC, rejected the claims as 'false news' and described them as part of a broader 'psychological warfare' campaign designed to fuel regional tensions. According to the outlet, Iranian officials maintain that the Houthis operate independently in their confrontations with the United States and Israel. The denial comes in response to statements from Moammar Al-Eryani, Information Minister for Yemen's internationally recognized government, indicating that a 'precise US airstrike' conducted last Tuesday, struck a Houthi installation in southern Al-Hudaydah province. He also reported that at least 70 individuals were killed in the strike, including senior Houthi commanders and military experts allegedly linked to the IRGC. Al-Eryani further noted that the recent wave of US airstrikes over the past two weeks had focused on a range of Houthi military sites across several provinces. The White House assessed that the operations were carried out with high accuracy, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Houthi fighters, among them top- and mid-level commanders. The Houthis began striking US and Israeli interests in October 2023, launching missiles toward Israel and targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea as part of their declared support for Gaza. They halted these operations after a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was reached. However, following the collapse of that ceasefire in March 2025, the group resumed its attacks, prompting a new round of US strikes in Yemen. Washington continues to emphasize that Iranian support plays a pivotal role in enabling Houthi operations.
Yemen Online
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Yemen Information Minister: How Can We Trust Houthi Promises While the UN Fails to Protect Its Own Staff?
Riyadh- In a pointed statement reflecting growing frustration with international handling of the Yemeni crisis, Yemen's Minister of Information, Moammar Al-Eryani, criticized the United Nations for continuing to advocate peace and dialogue with what he described as the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militia, despite the UN's failure to secure the release of its own detained employees. 'Twenty-three UN employees remain imprisoned behind bars in areas under Houthi control,' Al-Eryani said, highlighting the group's ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law by arbitrarily detaining humanitarian and aid workers. He questioned the credibility of the UN's peace efforts, stating:'If the United Nations itself is unable to protect its personnel and secure their release, how can anyone trust the Houthis' promises or rely on their commitments in any political process?' Al-Eryani placed a major question mark before the international community, stressing that continued leniency toward the Houthis and attempts to present them as a legitimate political actor amount to a dangerous normalization with terrorism, which undermines the chances of genuine peace in Yemen. The minister's comments come as pressure mounts on the UN to resolve the ongoing detention of its staff by the Houthis, amid a conspicuous silence from international actors and a soft diplomatic stance toward a group that continues to suppress freedoms and violate international conventions. Observers say Al-Eryani's remarks shed light on the double standards in international dealings with armed groups and call on the global community to uphold its moral and legal responsibilities toward both the Yemeni people and humanitarian personnel on the ground.
Arab News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah's funeral
CAIRO: Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani called on Wednesday for the arrest of a group of leaders from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis who he said will attend Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's funeral in Beirut. Nasrallah, who had served as Hezbollah's secretary general for more than 30 years, was killed on September 27 as Israel ramped up its attacks on southern Lebanon. His funeral is scheduled for February 23. Eryani demanded that the Lebanese government arrest the Houthi leaders and hand them over to the rival internationally recognized government in a post on X. He did not name the Houthi officials. Neither the Lebanese government nor Houthi leaders was immediately available for comment. The Houthis did not officially announce a delegation was attending the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported a delegation from Yemen would participate. 'We affirm that the movement of these terrorist leaders... in this timing is not a mere participation in the funeral, which is being used as a cover, to gather all the leaders of the Iranian axis and assess the situation after the blows they received,' he added. The Yemeni minister was referring to the recent Israeli attacks against Iran-backed groups in the region including Hezbollah and the Houthis. Both groups launched parallel attacks against Israel during its war in Gaza to show support for Palestinians. The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, also carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off the shores of Yemen since November 2023, disrupting global shipping and causing route changes and losses. The Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023 killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands.
