Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said that there is no difference in views between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America about the fact of support being provided by Iran for the Houthis in Yemen. In a meeting with a group of representatives of the United States and Arab media including Saudi Press Agency (SPA), he added, 'Iran provides financial support for the Houthis and helps them in building weapon factories and providing them with weapons, in addition that there are Iranians working alongside the Houthis''. The Ambassador pointed to the reports that the United States of America has already intercepted Iranian cargo ship loaded with weapons and missiles destined for the Houthis, saying, 'When I talk with US officials, they know that this is what the Iranians do with the Houthis. There is no difference between us and the United States of America when the matter relates to Iran's support for the Houthi. ' He said, 'We do not want that the error of Hezbollah in Lebanon to be repeated with the Houthi in Yemen.' Ambassador Al-Jubeir added, 'The Determination Storm Operation is still ongoing and we are in the process of destruction of weapons that may pose a threat to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whether they are air weapons or ballistic missiles or heavy weapons, and we have destroyed Al-Houthi's centers of command; so the Determination Storm is very effective.' The Ambassador said, 'The support that we find from our coalition partners or allies around the world, whether France or Britain or the United States of America remains strong and grows strongly.' He stressed that there are also efforts, at the same time, to search for a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, as 'We know that by the end of the track, Yemenis should reach an agreement on the basis of the Gulf initiative and the results of the national dialogue, and on its basis, the political transition in Yemen will continue to the point whereby the Yemenis can get rid of the current crisis and move forward toward a stable future. ' He said, 'We are sure that this process can not be carried out without the presence of a legitimate government and adhering to a number of principles which prohibit any use of force or possession of heavy weapons by any group outside the legitimate security forces in the country. We hope that the Houthis are aware of their inability to seize the country by force and begin the political process in accordance with the principles that I have mentioned. ' On humanitarian relief in Yemen, the Saudi Ambassador pointed to the continuation of the talks with international relief organizations to facilitate their deployment to Yemen, in addition to that the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is providing Yemen with its necessary relief materials. He pointed to the ongoing attempts by Houthis in hiding their missiles and command center in civilian populated areas, in an attempt to use civilians as human shields while the coalition is keen not to target civilians. He continued saying in this regard that 'some areas of civilians have been targeted by Houthis and some civilian casualties occurred due to Houthis' use of ground to ground missiles which did not hit their goals at launch.' On the use of ground forces in the Determination Storm Operation, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America said: 'We are now in the air stage and we will do whatever necessary to protect the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.' He also reiterated the keenness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that Yemen be a stable and prosperous country, pointing out that this is a positive element for Kingdom. He said: 'We are aware that it is not good to be sitting next to a failed or poor country and that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has worked over the past several years to help Yemen economically and in all other fields to eliminate its problems, but unfortunately Ali Abdullah Saleh has misused his country's administration over 30 years, and we hope, through a stable government in Yemen, to open the doors to investors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries.' On the summit, called by US President Barack Obama, on the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab States, to be held at Camp David resort in next spring, the Ambassador said: 'I think that the idea behind the summit is to consult closely and discuss means to strengthen military and security cooperation and means to meet the challenges in front of our countries in the region, including Iranian interference in the affairs of other countries. ' He continued saying, 'The US-GCC relations are very strong and strategic and we have many programs in the military and security fields and we have cooperation in many areas such as defense systems against ballistic missiles and military programs. I think that the initiative behind the summit lies in the discussion to further strengthening these relations. ' On the Framework Agreement on Iran's nuclear program agreement, he said,' We hope that there will be an agreement to be based on the principles set by the US government that any agreement will prevent Iran from obtaining the nuclear bomb'.
