Iran funding Yemeni separatist conference in Beirut

Asharq Alawsat - A Yemeni official informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Yemeni authorities have banned a number of MPs and officials from travelling to Beirut to attend the Yemeni opposition summit there which is being financed by Iran under the supervision of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp [IRGC].

The Yemeni official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, revealed that “the Yemeni government has banned a number of MPs affiliated to the Wefaq organization from travelling to attend a conference that will also be attended by Ali Salim al-Beidh and representatives of the Huthi movement in the Lebanese capital Beirut” adding “this conference is taking place under the supervision of Hezbollah and the IRGC, and is being financed by Iran.”

The source said that the objective of this conference is to disrupt the political process in Lebanon and circumvent the Gulf Initiative.

The Yemeni official also informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “Iran has named its new ambassador to Sanaa; however the Yemeni government refused to accept his credentials because he was previously a senior officer in the IRGC.”

Iran has issued repeated calls for Tehran not to interfere in its domestic affairs, whilst Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi has accused Iran of attempting to interfere in Yemeni domestic affairs in order to undermine the country’s security and stability.

Yemen’s Akhbar al-Youm newspaper reported that the Yemeni Foreign Minister received orders not to grant diplomatic passports and travel documents to a number of followers of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to attend the Yemeni opposition summit in Beirut, as this conference intends to pervert the implementation of the Gulf Initiative and is backed by Iran. This summit was to include members of the former regime, representatives of the Huthi movement, as well as representatives of the southern separatist trend led by Ali Salim al-Beidh. The newspaper claims that this ban was due to the fact that this opposition conference is being funded and directed by the Iranian intelligence and designed to destabilize the country. Yemen’s Akhbar al-Youm newspaper also revealed that Yemen had arrested two Iranian nationals in the country with alleged ties to the IRGC.