BEIRUT (AP) - The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Friday called for Saudi Arabia to stop its war in Yemen, or else face more attacks on its soil.
In a televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah warned Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates not to incite war “because your houses are made of glass.”
The U.S. accuses Iran of being behind recent drone-and-cruise-missile attacks that knocked out more than half of Saudi Arabia’s daily crude oil production. Saudi Arabia has said “Iranian weaponry” was used.
Iran denies any involvement, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis since March 2015.
But analysts say the missiles used in the Sept. 14 strikes wouldn’t have enough range to reach the site from Yemen.
Both Hezbollah and the Houthis are backed by Iran, and consider themselves part of the so-called axis of resistance that includes the Syrian government and powerful Shiite militias in Iraq.
“Continuing the war against Yemen with no solution is a pointless. You are starting to pay the price,” Nasrallah said.
“One strike knocked out half the oil production, and another strike, you can imagine what it will do,” he said.
He asserted that buying additional air defense systems from the U.S. wouldn’t help Saudi Arabia defend itself, adding that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have sophisticated missiles and drones.
“This attack shows the strength of the axis of resistance,” Nasrallah said.
He added that Saudi Arabia “should think well, as a war with Iran will mean their destruction.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned that any retaliatory strike on Iran by the U.S. or Saudi Arabia will result in “an all-out war.”
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been heightened following the collapse of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the accord.
The International Crisis Group warns that the Saudi attack could push the wider Persian Gulf into war, saying the risk of conflict is “arguably the highest it has been in years.”
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