[03/09/2024 06:46]

ADEN - SABA
Minister of Information Culture and Tourism Muammar al-Eryani stated that the Houthi terrorist militia's targeting the oil tanker (MV BLUE LAGOON), flying the Panama flag and managed by Greece with a ballistic missile and an Iranian-made drone—resulting in damage—marks the tenth attack on chemical and oil product tankers since last November, under the pretext of supporting Gaza.

This constitutes systematic terrorism that warns of an unprecedented environmental, economic, and humanitarian disaster.
Al-Eryani explained that this attack occurs amid international efforts to save the Greek oil tanker (MT DELTA SOUNION), which carries one million barrels of crude oil.

The Houthi militia targeted it on August 21 with a series of attacks, causing it to run aground, disable its engines, evacuate its crew, and leave it at risk of sinking or exploding, with fires still burning on board.

He pointed out that the repeated targeting of oil and chemical product tankers by the Houthi militia reflects its indifference to the catastrophic consequences of any oil spill in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden, on the economic, agricultural, and fishery sectors in Yemen, the coastal strip of Yemen and neighboring countries, as well as the marine environment and biodiversity of the islands in the region.

Al-Eryani added, "Any oil spill in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden threatens Yemen's fishing stocks, will affect millions of Yemenis in coastal cities with toxic gases, will halt operations at Yemeni ports, will pollute seawater desalination plants, and will cut off their supplies.

"Yemen will also lose fisheries that provide a livelihood for 1.7 million Yemenis, destroying biodiversity and the ecosystem in the area," he said.

He affirmed that this dangerous escalation reveals the nature of the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization acting as a pliant tool to implement Iran's agenda, showing no concern for the political, economic, and humanitarian conditions in Yemen, as well as the failure of the international community to address the serious threats posed by the militia as an Iranian arm to maritime security and the free flow of global trade.

He highlighted the need to reconsider ways to counter the militia's terrorist acts.

Al-Eryani called on the international community to swiftly classify the Houthi militia as a "global terrorist organization," impose sanctions by freezing its assets, banning travel for its leaders, enhancing legal coordination among countries to pursue its members, and those individuals and organizations that provide financial or logistical support to it.

He also urged strengthening international cooperation in intelligence sharing, combating funding and recruitment, and enforcing international resolutions regarding the prevention of the sale or supply of weapons and dual-use materials.

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