Al-Mashat's screams and the Houthi predicament in the salary file
تاريخ النشر: 9th, September 2023 GMT
From insulting employees to betraying Parliament, the recent statements of the leader of the Houthi group, Mahdi Al-Mashat, revealed the depth of the crisis and fears among his group regarding the issue of disbursing salaries in the areas under its control.
In his speeches at meetings organized by the group last week, Al-Mashat described the voices demanding the payment of salaries from the revenues plundered by the group as “fools” and accused them of “serving the enemy” in reference to the coalition.
Al-Mashat's attack went so far as to accuse the pro-group House of Representatives in Sana'a of treason, by talking about the reason for the group's refusal to submit annual budgets to him, as he said that it came as a result of the leak of the budget that it presented to the House in 2019 to the Security Council Sanctions Committee.
Al-Mashat's sharp statements reflected the extent of the fears and anxiety that the group is experiencing regarding the escalation of voices from within the areas under its control during the recent period by disbursing salaries from the revenues collected by the group, amounting to hundreds of billions.
The group believes that the escalation of these voices comes as a result of the continuation of the truce agreement that stopped armed confrontations on the front lines since April 2022, which eliminated the group’s only justification for preventing the disbursement of salaries, which is war.
The fall of the justification for the war, the continuation of the truce for about a year and a half, and the return of the activity of the Hodeidah ports under its control, raised questions about the fate of revenues in the areas controlled by the Houthi group, in terms of taxes and customs, which doubled what was the case before the war, according to what the legitimate government says, confirming that during this period they amounted to about four. One trillion and 620 billion riyals.
The matter did not stop at the demands and calls on social media sites. Rather, the group found itself facing real action on the ground through the widespread strike carried out by teachers in the areas under its control, which caused the disruption of the school year that the group launched at the beginning of last August.
What compounded the group’s crisis was its continued failure to impose its demands on the negotiating table run by the Sultanate of Oman to renew the UN truce, the most important of which is sharing oil and gas revenues produced in the liberated governorates under the pretext of disbursing salaries in areas under its control.
The Houthi group, in an attempt to confront this impasse, promoted through its leaders allegations of progress in Omani efforts to resolve controversial issues, most notably the salaries file, which a government source denied on Wednesday, in a statement to the German News Agency.
The government source confirmed that the consultations led by the United Nations with the participation of the Sultanate of Oman are still suffering from a continuing stagnation, especially in the salaries file, pointing out that an Omani delegation will visit Riyadh to discuss the outstanding issues.
The failure of the Houthi group to impose its demands, especially in the salary file, puts the group before difficult options to deal with any developments that may occur as a result of the escalation of demands within the areas under its control for the disbursement of salaries as the truce continues to take effect month after month and the group’s inability to bear the cost of the decision to end the truce and return to war.
المصدر: نيوزيمن
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Al-Shalfi: Houthi Escalation Is a Negotiating Tactic, Not a Move Toward War
Journalist Ahmed Al-Shalfi has affirmed that the latest Houthi escalation against Saudi Arabia is more indicative of a negotiating pressure tool than genuine preparation for an all-out war. His comments come amid what he described as “confirmed” reports of ongoing talks between Houthi representatives and Saudi officials aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis.
Speaking to Arabi21, Al-Shalfi said the “recent threats issued by the Houthi group against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are notable both in timing and intensity and were far from spontaneous. They were made across all levels of the group — from its leader to political and media officials, down to field commanders — reflecting a coordinated and deliberate decision to raise the ceiling of rhetoric toward Riyadh.”
He noted that this escalation became more apparent following a statement issued Saturday by the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior announcing the discovery of an alleged “intelligence cell run by the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia,” which the group claimed was operating from within Saudi territory.
According to Al-Shalfi, the statement clearly suggests that the level of dialogue between the Houthis and the Kingdom “may have stalled,” pushing the group from subtle messaging to direct accusations — a shift that indicates “unprecedented tension” in the ongoing communication channels between the two sides.
He added that Houthi-affiliated media have recently resumed publishing reports of artillery shelling targeting border areas in Saada governorate, describing these incidents as “Saudi aggression.” He pointed out that such rhetoric had largely disappeared over the past two years, and its return in this manner signals “a real crisis in the trajectory of understandings with Riyadh, as well as an attempt to revive the narrative of external threat to mobilize internal support and redirect public opinion.”
Al-Shalfi continued: “What is striking is that all of this coincides with confirmed reports of talks between Houthi representatives and Saudi Arabia that appear to have made no tangible progress — particularly as the Houthis insist on returning to the roadmap agreed upon by Yemeni parties and Saudi Arabia before the Gaza war. That roadmap is no longer acceptable to the United States or influential regional actors, as it granted the Houthis broad political and economic concessions.”
He explained: “From this perspective, the Houthi escalation — including the intelligence cell statement and the limited border-level tensions — is better understood as a negotiating pressure tactic rather than preparation for a full-scale war.” He noted that the group, by nature, is “adventurous and non-hesitant,” and may undertake field actions to demonstrate seriousness, improve its negotiating position, or secure gains.
However, he stressed that “today’s reality is entirely different from what it was two years ago. The Houthis are now in a phase of hesitation after suffering losses from American and Israeli strikes and the killing of several of their political and military leaders, in addition to the weakening of Iran’s regional axis following the Gaza war.”
Al-Shalfi concluded that the Houthi escalation “is likely to remain confined to rhetoric, accusations, and limited clashes without developing into a broader confrontation,” noting that the group “understands that any full-scale war at this moment could open a front it is not prepared to withstand.”
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