Saudis Fret Over Iranian Front Emerging From Yemen Chaos
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The crowd packed into the soccer stadium in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, fell silent as three giant screens flickered to life with the image of the country’s de-facto leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi. In his half-hour speech, al-Houthi told thousands of supporters that he had dissolved parliament, but he pledged to talk with all parties and make Yemen a force for “stability and peace.”
Yet his message of reconciliation in the Feb. 7 appearance bore a darker undertone, with a style reminiscent of radical Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Al-Houthi’s backers responded with chants of “Death to America, Death to Israel,” slogans echoed on badges, headbands and posters in the stadium.