There are no surprises in the results of the Saudi response against the rebel incursion from Yemen into the Kingdom's territories. There are also no surprises in the outcome. This is because both the balance of power and the Saudi determination to defend the Kingdom's territorial sovereignty leave no room for the intruders to achieve any military objectives inside the Kingdom. There can also be no doubt that the Huthis fully realize these facts, and know that Saudi Arabia will not be lenient in what regards its sovereignty, especially when the latter is violated by an armed group. Also, the Huthis' move cannot be justified by the requirements of the conflict with the Yemeni army inside Yemen, even if the battles are taking place in a region that borders Saudi Arabia. For this reason, this incursion must be considered from a viewpoint that goes beyond pure military calculations. There are thus a number of political messages that this incursion entails, added to those sent through the battles themselves inside Yemen. It has become clear that the Huthis, along with the insurgency groups and equivalent opposition, have no regard whatsoever for the concept of the state. This is despite their own allegations that they are fighting in order to achieve goals related to “rights” within their country. While bearing arms against the state itself eliminates any grounds they may have regarding their “rights”, the violation of a neighbouring country's sovereignty, no matter what the pretexts are, confirms the perpetrators' sheer rejection of the concept of the state and of national sovereignty, and subsequently, their concept of dealing with the principles that govern states, and want to take history back to a time when states were not yet established in the region. Here, a second message emerges, namely that the problem is being transformed from its purely Yemeni internal dimension, into an attempt to drag Saudi Arabia into a conflict with a party that does not hide its sectarianism. This is in addition to what this entails in terms of expanding the internal Yemeni strife into a regional sectarian conflict, in which Saudi Arabia, with its heavy religious weight, becomes a party. In such case, there can be no separation between the Huthis' plans and their sectarian branching on one hand, and the regional issues on the other hand, which demonstrates that the expansion of this conflict, in the first place, was part of these problems, and that it was also aimed at exerting pressure on Saudi Arabia through the attempt of exporting an armed conflict to within its territories. While Iran is officially denying that it is providing military support for the Huthis, its political stances towards the Gulf States in general and the Yemeni crisis in particular reveal the nature of its involvement. Yesterday, the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, within his response about the question regarding the Iranian involvement, chose to only say that his country is seeking to “play a role in achieving peace and stability (in the Iranian sense) in all the countries of the region”. In other words, he is acknowledging the Iranian role in all the countries in the region in seeking peace and stability, as seen fit by Tehran. Mottaki did not stop at this confirmation, but also decided to threaten the countries of the region that “following an oppressive policy towards the people will have dire consequences”. In other words, the Iranian minister believes there is “an oppressive policy” being practiced by the countries of the region against certain groups within these countries, which of course is intended to mean those groups which have a sectarian association with Iran, and thus threatened these countries with “dire consequences” as a result of this oppression. Mottaki as such confirmed his country's interference in the internal affairs of the region's countries, while trying to deny this interference. Today, the Huthis are the spearhead of this intervention in Yemen, and are being exploited in order to broaden the scope of this intervention. This is especially valid when the incursion into Saudi Arabia took place during the peak of the crisis stirred by Tehran with Saudi Arabia, in what regards the rites of the Hajj and the sectarian attacks against Riyadh, while the latter insisted on reasserting the religious nature of these rites, and on making sure that these will not be turned into a political podium for Iranian propaganda. It is clear from both the Saudi stances and the Saudi military response against the intruders that Riyadh has dealt with the Huthi violation of the sovereignty of its territories, while fully comprehending the political messages the above entails. This took place by limiting the interpretation of what happened to be merely an incursion by an armed group that must be dealt with along these lines, and using the appropriate force. The problem then ends when the Huthis are deterred from repeating such violations. In the meantime, Riyadh has stressed on its determination to do everything in its power to defend its sovereignty, and to reject any foreign intervention in its affairs as part of a clear message that it will never be lenient with the Huthi scheme, and with those who are behind it, and that it will spare nothing to thwart it, and to rise against foreign pressure and blackmail, including their military aspect.
