In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Asghar Zarei described the conditions of the Yemeni war after nearly six years of imposed war on the Yemeni people as erosive and said: As we moved away from the beginning of the war, the conditions of the struggle and the situation on the ground became more and more favorable to the benefit of the Yemeni people, and in the last one or two years, we have witnessed that in general, the Ansarollah and Houthi forces were able to achieve superiority in most of the battlefields by arming themselves with very advanced and modern equipment in terms of attack and defense.

Situation in the battlefield in Yemen

He said Ansarollah had taken control of significant parts of the territory previously held by the Arab-Hebrew-American coalition, and pointed to their progress in Ma’rib Governorate, adding: One of the most important and vital provinces and regions that was of great strategic for the coalition was the Ma’rib Governorate and city the significant part of which has been liberated by Ansarollah and the city of Ma’rib is on the verge of collapse and liberation.

The expert on West Asia affairs said: This has caused confusion and anger among Saudi-led coalition forces and intensified the indiscriminate bombings they carry out against the defenseless nation of Yemen from time to time. In return, Yemeni forces, with the modern equipment at their disposal, including state-of-the-art drones, cruise missiles and precision-guided missiles, were able to attack Saudi Arabia’s vital infrastructure and strategic areas in the distance, such as the Aramco oil industry, the capital Riyadh, and the very important and strategic international airport of Jeddah, and elsewhere.

Zarei continued by stating that the Al-Saud regime has become very frightened and vulnerable as a result of those attacks and Ansarollah’s advances and noted: American patriots and Saudi air defense equipment, despite being among the most modern American and Western equipment, have shown their weakness as they have failed against this type of attacks. In terms of ground operations, we definitely see superiority and capability of the Yemeni forces.

Widening gap among coalition forces

The analyst of West Asia affairs said Ansarollah’s field superiority caused division among coalition forces, adding: Most of the mercenaries from African countries fighting for the coalition had left the coalition. On the other hand, we are witnessing numerous differences between the forces affiliated with the ousted and fugitive Yemeni President Mansour Abdrabuh. Those gaps are widening day by day due to the prolongation of the war, and in terms of diplomacy, psychological operations and the media, Saudi Arabia is in a position of passivity and failure.

He stressed that the negotiations that took place under the pressure of international institutions such as the Security Council and some European institutions in order to impose on the Yemenis what they failed to achieve on the ground and at the negotiating table, have failed and they could not achieve what they wanted.

Zarei referred to the warnings and reports of the United Nations and some human rights organizations regarding the human crimes of the Arab coalition in Yemen and continued: The world public opinion is very sensitive to the crimes and actions of the Saudi government and the Arab-Hebrew-Western coalition, and publication of reports on the catastrophic situation of the Yemeni people has created a heavy atmosphere against the Al Saud regime, so that even the Americans are interested in putting an end to this issue as soon as possible.

Desperation of America and Europe over Saudi performance

Meanwhile, he said: Although we do not see any operational change in the US government’s support for the Al Saud regime, it is clear that governments such as the US and Europeans today are completely disappointed with Saudi Arabia’s actions and adventurous policies in the region.

Zarei added: Ansarollah, with its resistance in this war, has the upper hand in the field of operations and resistance despite the heavy costs and damages, loss of human resources and defenseless people, the siege, the poor health condition, and the human catastrophe that it suffered, and this is the concern of the US-affiliated regimes and the West in the region. Today, Saudi Arabia is looking for a dignified and low-cost way out of this self-made crisis that has plagued it and its allies for more than six years.

Saying that the crisis seems to be approaching its final months, he referred to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to use ISIS forces in Yemen to change the field equation and added that the entry of al-Qaeda, the ISIS and terrorist forces will not change the situation on the ground. Clashes may escalate somewhat, but Ansarollah and the Houthis are militarily superior today, and there is no incentive for defending and fighting on the other side, and divisions as well as fatigue and exhaustion in the coalition forces are quite evident.

The expert on the Middle East affairs while noting that Ansarollah’s advances have put Saudi Arabia in a diplomatic and security dilemma which will not be able to withstand further damage and attacks, pointed to efforts for the resumption of talks and stressed: In a situation that Ansarollah has the upper hand, if the same old demands and pressures are raised again in the negotiations, the talks will still not go well. The talks should be in a way that secures the rights of the Yemeni people, not to consider conditions that are entirely in Riyadh’s favor.