Riyadh (South24)

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi on Sunday met in Riyadh with the US State Department’s Counterterrorism Director for the Middle East, Jesse Levinson and the United States (US) Ambassador to Yemen Steven Fagin.

Yemeni Saba News Agency said that the meeting discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and their future prospects, especially in the field of counter-terrorism and organized crime, and strengthening the close partnership between the two sides at various levels.

According to the published statement, the meeting touched on "the terrorist threats fueled by the Houthi militias and the organizations allied with them, including the gross violations of human rights and ongoing piracy on maritime cargo ships with the support of the Iranian regime."

The reference in the statement to "organizations allied with the Houthis" is consistent with previous statements by Al-Alimi and other Yemeni officials regarding a secret relationship between the Houthis and the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group.

Recently, the terrorist organization's operations against the Southern Transitional Council (STC) affiliate Southern forces have increased in Abyan Governorate.

During the meeting, Al-Alimi cited the reforms implemented by the PLC with regard to security agencies and counter-terrorism authorities, according to the statement.

"Al-Alimi praised the close cooperation between Yemen and the US in the field of combating terrorism and added that the PLC and the government are looking forward to mounting international pressure on the Houthi militia, including designating them as a terrorist organization," the statement added.

In a separate development, the Houthi group announced today that US-UK aircraft launched an airstrike on the At-Tuhayta district in Hodeidah governorate.

Earlier, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said that it is impossible now to move forward with the peace roadmap, warning that continued waiting could return the country to the cycle of war, according to statements released by AFP.

However, Grundberg said on Wednesday in a speech to the UN Security Council that "ending the war is an available option - and it is an option that is still within the reach of the parties."

The Yemeni arena is witnessing a state of cautious anticipation after the recent regional events, especially the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the destruction of the leadership of the Lebanese Hezbollah, all of which are parties considered allies of the Houthis within the Iranian resistance axis.