Senior Iranian officials have held talks with a Houthi delegation amid escalating tension with the West after Tehran's move to send a warship to the Red Sea.
The ship's deployment came after a deadly clash on Sunday in which 10 Houthi rebels were killed by US helicopter fire after they shot at a commercial vessel and American forces.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met senior Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam on Monday in Tehran and discussed “issues of common interest”.
The meeting also focused on “the peace path and international negotiations, as well as developments in the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the necessity of strengthening the steadfastness of the valiant Palestinian resistance”, Mr Abdulsalam said.
News agency Tasnim said on Monday that Iran's Alborz warship had entered the Red Sea, where a US-led maritime coalition has been stationed to stop Houthi attacks on vessels traversing the crucial waterway.
The risks of the Israel-Gaza conflict morphing into a wider regional conflict rose at the weekend after US helicopters repelled an attack on Sunday by the Houthis on a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea, sinking three Houthi ships and killing 10 militants.
Oil prices jumped 1 per cent on Tuesday, starting the New Year higher as the Red Sea naval clash focused attention on potential Middle East supply disruptions while expectations of a Chinese economic stimulus strengthened the demand outlook in the world's top crude importer.
Mohammed Al Houthi, a senior leader of the rebel group, warned the Netherlands on Tuesday not to be drawn into a battle in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are all part of the US-led maritime security mission.
“If the Dutch want to work to secure international navigation and prevent the outbreak of wars, they must put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression and lift the siege on two million and one hundred thousand people inside Gaza,” Mr Al Houthi told Dutch television NOS in comments carried by the Yemeni Saba news agency.
Apart from the Houthis, Iran also supports Hamas, the ruling faction in Gaza fighting Israel. Other Tehran-backed groups in the Middle East have launched attacks on US forces in the region and Israel.
A wider conflict could lead to the closure of crucial waterways in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, forcing ships transporting oil to opt for longer and more expensive routes.
Mr Al Houthi said the rebel group remained defiant despite the latest clash in the Red Sea from the US-led coalition.
“America was unable to do anything today, and it is too incapable of being in another alliance, and the more warships there are in the Red Sea, the easier it will be for our armed forces."
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AT%20A%20GLANCE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWindfall%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAn%20%E2%80%9Cenergy%20profits%20levy%E2%80%9D%20to%20raise%20about%20%C2%A35%20billion%20in%20a%20year.%20The%20temporary%20one-off%20tax%20will%20hit%20oil%20and%20gas%20firms%20by%2025%20per%20cent%20on%20extraordinary%20profits.%20An%2080%20per%20cent%20investment%20allowance%20should%20calm%20Conservative%20nerves%20that%20the%20move%20will%20dent%20North%20Sea%20firms%E2%80%99%20investment%20to%20save%20them%2091p%20for%20every%20%C2%A31%20they%20spend.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EA%20universal%20grant%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEnergy%20bills%20discount%2C%20which%20was%20effectively%20a%20%C2%A3200%20loan%2C%20has%20doubled%20to%20a%20%C2%A3400%20discount%20on%20bills%20for%20all%20households%20from%20October%20that%20will%20not%20need%20to%20be%20paid%20back.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETargeted%20measures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMore%20than%20eight%20million%20of%20the%20lowest%20income%20households%20will%20receive%20a%20%C2%A3650%20one-off%20payment.%20It%20will%20apply%20to%20households%20on%20Universal%20Credit%2C%20Tax%20Credits%2C%20Pension%20Credit%20and%20legacy%20benefits.%3Cbr%3ESeparate%20one-off%20payments%20of%20%C2%A3300%20will%20go%20to%20pensioners%20and%20%C2%A3150%20for%20those%20receiving%20disability%20benefits.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why the Tourist Club?
Originally, The Club (which many people chose to call the “British Club”) was the only place where one could use the beach with changing rooms and a shower, and get refreshments.
In the early 1970s, the Government of Abu Dhabi wanted to give more people a place to get together on the beach, with some facilities for children. The place chosen was where the annual boat race was held, which Sheikh Zayed always attended and which brought crowds of locals and expatriates to the stretch of beach to the left of Le Méridien and the Marina.
It started with a round two-storey building, erected in about two weeks by Orient Contracting for Sheikh Zayed to use at one these races. Soon many facilities were planned and built, and members were invited to join.
Why it was called “Nadi Al Siyahi” is beyond me. But it is likely that one wanted to convey the idea that this was open to all comers. Because there was no danger of encountering alcohol on the premises, unlike at The Club, it was a place in particular for the many Arab expatriate civil servants to join. Initially the fees were very low and membership was offered free to many people, too.
Eventually there was a skating rink, bowling and many other amusements.
Frauke Heard-Bey is a historian and has lived in Abu Dhabi since 1968.
