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Biden ends US support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the US would no longer support the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen, a six-year conflict widely viewed as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. “This war has to end. And to underline our commitment, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the Yemen war, including arms sales. “In 2015, a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen by armed government forces against Iranian-focused Houthi rebels. In his remarks, Biden added that the conflict had caused a humanitarian” catastrophe “, one the United Nations claims to be the largest the world is there, with millions of people in Yemen facing a great famine. Biden also named U.S. diplomat Timothy Lenderking on Thursday as the country’s special envoy for Yemen to reinforce American diplomacy and end the war there. “I have asked my team in the Middle East to ensure that our support for the United Nations enables the initiative to establish a ceasefire, open humanitarian challenges and restore long dormant peace talks. “Biden’s move reverses the policies of both the Obama and Trump administrations. Trump’s policies centered on pushing and maintaining Iran on talks on its nuclear program, despite calls from Republican and Democratic lawmakers for an end to U.S. support to Saudi Arabia as the humanitarian crisis in Yemen deepened, but Biden said The US would continue to help Saudi Arabia defend Saudi Arabia welcomed these commitments, according to its state news agency.
