Representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE are tasked with proxy wars

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attributed Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen to "American instigation" and labeled the country along with Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE as "agents of America's proxy wars in the Middle East." According to the official news agency of the judiciary, Ali Saeedi, on Friday, April 7, accused the United States of "orchestrating and intellectually directing" proxy wars in the Middle East. He stated that a resolution to the Yemen crisis is not feasible for Saudi Arabia independently or even with U.S. assistance, adding, "Saudi Arabia has entered these proxy wars under the influence of Shiite phobia." On Thursday, October 24, Saeedi had referred to Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and Latin America as the "strategic depth" of the Islamic Republic of Iran, asserting that "we do not have the right to lose any part of this depth to ensure Iran's security." On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries conducted a joint operation targeting areas controlled by Houthi militants and their allies. Iranian foreign ministry officials and members of parliament unanimously condemned this action on Thursday, April 6. Meanwhile, some analyses and reports suggest that unrest in Yemen could escalate into a proxy war between Sunni Arab powers, particularly Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Iran has been accused of supporting the Shiite Houthi rebels, who have taken control of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, in recent months and have reportedly advanced to within 20 kilometers of Aden, the country's third-largest city. They had previously seized control of Taiz, the second-largest city in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, which shares an 1800-kilometer border with Yemen, supports Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the president of Yemen, who reportedly traveled from Aden to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. Meanwhile, Ismail Kowsari, a representative from Tehran in parliament, stated on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will "certainly suffer a blow that will lead to the fall of its regime" due to its attack on Yemen. According to Fars News Agency, he emphasized that Saudi Arabia is intervening militarily in Yemen "under the guidance of the U.S. and Israel." Additionally, Mohammad Hassan Asfari, a member of the parliament's foreign policy commission, remarked, "Saudi Arabia knows well that the capabilities of the Yemeni people and the armed forces are such that they can target bases up to 500 kilometers deep into Saudi Arabia with their missiles." Aladdin Boroujerdi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian parliament, also accused Saudi Arabia on Thursday of igniting a "new war" in the region and added that "the smoke from this fire will go into Saudi Arabia's own eyes," as wars are never confined to a single point. Saeedi's comments about regional countries, including Turkey, come as Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday to help create peace and cohesion in the region by adopting responsible policies. In this context, the Yemeni government stated that there is still an opportunity for conditional dialogue with the Houthis. Saudi Arabia announced that it currently has no plans for ground operations in Yemen. The Yemen crisis has intensified, with Mansur Hadi moving from Aden to Riyadh. The U.S. is providing "intelligence and logistical" support for operations in Yemen. The Saudi ambassador to the U.S. confirmed that operations in Yemen have begun.