Yemen’s Defense Chief Pledges Allegiance to Iran’s Leader

Date: 19 July 2026 - 00:42

News ID: ۱۵۱۹۱۵

SANAA (Dispatches) -- Yemen’s Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Nasser al-Atafi has announced that Ansarullah is prepared to execute any orders issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei.
“We confirm the readiness of the armed forces to implement any directives issued by the Iranian supreme leader if the siege on the Yemeni people continues,” al-Atafi said in an interview with Yemen’s SABA news agency.
He also warned “aggressor countries, particularly the Saudi enemy and those who support it,” that Yemenis have all options available.
The announcement comes after Saudi warplanes struck Sanaa International Airport last Sunday in what the Sanaa-based Foreign Ministry described as a declaration of war, effectively ending a de-escalation period that had been in place since 2022.
Ansarullah responded on Monday with missile and drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport.
Yemen’s Ansarullah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned that “all Saudi oil facilities and its vital installations are targets for Yemen’s missiles and drones,” adding that the Saudi enemy has trapped itself in its aggression against Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Yemen since March 2015, triggering what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Massive crowds took to the streets of Sa’ada on Friday to reiterate their support for the Sanaa government against Saudi aggression, expressing gratitude
to Iran for efforts to break the blockade.
During the “Friday of warning and mobilization” demonstration, participants chanted slogans such as “Aggression for aggression” and “Siege for siege,” hailing the steadfastness of the Yemeni nation.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Grand Mufti Allama Shams al-Din Sharaf al-Din addressed mass Ashura commemorations in Sanaa, saying: “Trump in his war against Iran seeks victory and delusion. What brought him to the negotiating table were the missiles and the culture of jihad and martyrdom embodied in the axis of jihad and resistance.”
Al-Houthi congratulated Iran on a “great victory” over the United States and Israel during the Ashura commemorations, praising Tehran’s resilience and pledging unwavering support.
“The great victory of the Islamic Republic of Iran over the enemies of the Islamic nation is a significant victory for the entire axis of jihad and resistance,” he said.
Al-Houthi also warned that Yemen is closely monitoring Israeli moves in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, where Israel recognized independence in December 2025.
“We are closely monitoring developments in Somaliland and the enemy’s attempts to transform it into a foothold to control the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea,” he said.
He warned that Yemen will target any Israeli presence in Somaliland, adding: “Yemen will neither stand idly in the face of any Israeli presence in Somaliland, nor will it wait for those who fail to act.”
Yemenis view any Israeli deployment near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait as a direct threat to Yemen’s national security and sovereignty.