Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that the international community now has an opportunity to resolve Yemen’s five-year long civil war.
Yemen's war began in 2015 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels tried to overthrow the government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, capturing the capital of Sanaa.
Recent weeks have seen significant Houthi advances in north Yemen as they launched an offensive to gain control of Al Hazam city, the capital of Al Jawf province, which borders Saudi Arabia.
They also seized large parts of Nehim district, near Sanaa.
The resumption of fighting in Al Jawf has displaced about 70,000 people to Marib, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
“We certainly support the UN track, we want to see de-escalation," Mr Raab told Al Arabiya on Tuesday. "We want to see a political resolution of the conflict in Yemen.”
The foreign secretary had just returned from a trip to the Gulf where he discussed Yemen with the Sultan Haitham of Oman and Saudi King Salman, as well as foreign officials.
“There is now an opportunity, we think in Yemen, to resolve the conflict and to give the people of Yemen the prospects of a brighter future and that will require pressure on the Houthis, but also compromises by all parties in order to navigate our way forward," Mr Raab said.
"And of course, we’re supporting the UN special envoy and all his efforts in the region."
He said Britain’s main message to Gulf allies was that the world could not afford to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons.
A nuclear deal signed by Iran and global powers in 2015 put limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity in exchange for the lifting of sanctions on Tehran.
But the accord suffered a blow when the US withdrew from it in 2018.
Tension between Iran and the West has increased this year after the killing of Tehran’s most senior military general, Qassem Suleimani, by the US on January 3.
Iran has retaliated by launching missile strikes on two US military bases in Iraq.
“We want to see Iran come back into compliance with its obligations but we will hold Iran to account when it systematically flouts the basic rules of international law or the deal that it's done,” Mr Raab said.
“And I think that it's really important that we work closely with our partners in the region but also that the Europeans and the North Americans give a very clear message on this: we cannot afford to see Iran acquiring nuclear weapons."
Mr Raab said he still believed the nuclear deal could work, but ultimately the decision would lie “with the regime in Tehran”.
“We will hold Iran to account but at all times we would like to see the door left open for Iran to do the right thing, come back to the negotiating table and build confidence that it’s actually a responsible member for the international community,” he said.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast