S.Arabia lost war for Iran, UAE: Yemeni ex-official

SANAA

A former senior official in Yemen said Thursday that Saudi Arabia lost the war in Yemen to Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Former Minister of Transportation Saleh Algabwani tweeted: "When we evaluate the performance of the regional powers in the Yemeni war, we find that the beneficiaries are Iran and the UAE, however the loser is Saudi Arabia."

Last April, Algabwani submitted his resignation to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in protest of a decision to suspend him from his post.

The former minister accused Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik of "supporting the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council."

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthi group overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen and supported the country’s pro-Saudi government.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara