Al-Mashat: Yemen to Confront Saudi Arabia Until War and Blockade End

By Al Mayadeen English

13 Oct 2026 22:36

Supreme Political Council President Mahdi al-Mashat says strikes on Saudi Arabia aim to end the 12-year war and blockade on Yemen, reclaim national resources, expel occupiers, and safeguard holy sites and maritime security.

Sanaa's military operations against Saudi Arabia are justified and aim to force Riyadh to end its longstanding aggression and blockade of Yemen, Mahdi al-Mashat, the president of the Supreme Political Council, said on Tuesday.

In remarks to SABA News Agency, al-Mashat said the most immediate path to a solution lies in ending the Saudi war and blockade against Yemen. He emphasized that the battle is now aimed at bringing an end to 12 years of continued aggression and siege, reclaiming the country’s national wealth and resources, and expelling every occupier from Yemeni territory.

He reaffirmed Yemen’s determination to confront Saudi Arabia until its war and blockade are brought to an end, including by striking its military build-ups to thwart its objective of occupying the country.

Addressing Saudi Arabia directly, al-Mashat stated that “the sensible one among those involved in the invasion of Yemen is the one who takes the initiative to leave it before it is too late.”

Al-Mashat further noted that Saudi policies had repeatedly obstructed major national milestones, weakened the Yemeni state, and prevented the country from harnessing its resources and wealth. Yemenis, he maintained, now face a historic opportunity to consolidate their national project and build a strong and just state, free from subservience to foreign powers or external dependency.

Holy sites are a red line, international navigation is safe

Al-Mashat held KSA fully responsible for any attack on holy sites or any attempt to implicate the Yemeni people in such acts. Emphasizing that holy sites constitute a red line, he warned that Sanaa would not remain silent in the face of any reckless act.

He argued that Saudi Arabia's repeated allegations that Yemen had targeted Medina exposed its state of helplessness and failure, while reflecting its actions in accordance with Zionist plans. Al-Mashat also renewed his call for countries and entities endorsing these accusations to reconsider their positions and verify the claims.

In a separate statement, al-Mashat condemned “the crimes of Saudi aggression and the targeting of civilians,” saying they laid bare Riyadh's "brutality" and affirming Yemen’s right to respond.

Concluding his remarks, he stressed that international navigation remains safe and that Yemen is committed to fulfilling its international obligations concerning maritime navigation.

He warned, however, that the threat to maritime security stems from Saudi Arabia turning the Bab al-Mandab Strait into a war zone, and called on the international community to condemn this course of action.

Saudi aggression against Yemen in numbers

According to SABA, Saudi strikes over the years of aggression have destroyed more than 571 fuel stations across the country, along with 644 fuel tankers.

The agency added that the aggression has involved 300,000 Saudi airstrikes, which have hit homes, residential neighborhoods, markets, hospitals, and schools. It said the raids have also struck funeral gatherings, weddings, roads, bridges, displacement camps, airports, ports, and factories.

On Tuesday, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that Saudi warplanes carried out 104 airstrikes across Yemen over the past 24 hours.

Saree said the raids bombed the governorates of Sanaa, Dhamar, Taiz, Amran, Lahj, al-Jawf, Marib, Saada, and Hodeidah.

Two civilians were martyred, and two others were wounded when a Saudi attack hit the Yemeni Oil Company in the Ras Isa area of Hodeidah, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry.

In a separate incident, three citizens were martyred after an unexploded remnant of the Saudi aggression detonated in the Hays district, south of Hodeidah, Saba News Agency reported.