Financial Times: The prisoner exchange deal was prompted by American pressure on Saudi Arabia to keep Sana’a away from military escalation in the region

Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

The Financial Times revealed that the recent prisoner exchange deal between Sana’a and Saudi Arabia confirmed America’s fear of Sana’a’s participation in the ongoing escalation in the region and came as part of American pressure on Saudi Arabia aimed at keeping Sana’a away from engaging in the escalating military escalation with Iran.

The newspaper stated that Riyadh is intensifying its efforts to keep the Houthis away from any confrontation related to the ongoing war in the Middle East, amid regional fears of the conflict widening and extending to the Red Sea and Gulf oil facilities.

The report indicated that Saudi Arabia and other regional countries fear any escalation that might push the Houthis to target oil infrastructure or threaten navigation in the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.

The newspaper quoted analysts as saying that the prisoner deal is a step to build trust and revitalize the stalled UN-sponsored settlement path, along with using it as a means to encourage the Houthis not to engage further in the American-Israeli confrontation with Iran.