Houthi spokesperson from dealing in Iranian carpets to bloodshed

Mohamed Abdel Salam, spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militias, has tried to keep away from the limelight for long time since his emergence as a spokesperson for the military revolt in the fourth war in 2007, when war erupted between the Yemeni government and the rebels in the northern province of Saada until February 2010.

He has not revealed his identity for many years. His media engagement has been by voice calls only, unlike all of the Houthi leaders. That approach has helped him to stay away from authorities and escaped arrest.  Despite he was arrested once, the security authorities released him and did not discover he was the official spokesperson for the Houthis in Saada Governorate.

There has been ambiguous tales about his origin. Abdel Salam Salah Ahmed Abdulla Felitah was born in the village of Qalaa in Razih, Saada Governorate. His father, a scholar and poet, moved to Saada, where he became one of its greatest Zaidi theorists.

His upbringing was influenced by a sense of injustice resulting from the overthrowing the Hashemite family in Yemen in 1962, when military officers took over the country.

Abdel Salam’s loyalty to Iran is not confined to its political agenda only, but it extended to trading in Iranian-made carpets revealing his passion for the Iranian culture.  That reveals his absolute loyalty to the Iranian strategy.

Abdel Salam's character was controversial, especially after the Saudi Interior Ministry said he was killed along with three of his aides in airstrikes that targeted his hometown Qalaa in Razih.

Press reports said that the Saudi aircraft launched raids targeting the commanding and media center of the Houthis under spokesperson of the Houthis, Mohamed Abdel Salam, aka Abu Yasser.

The Houthis draw on Taqiya, or denial of religious beliefs, when they are not in power. All Shiites draw Taqiya not only the Houthis. After the Yemeni revolution in 2011, the Iranian-backed Houthis took control of Saada. Abdel Salam took the opportunity to reveal his identity. He made his first public appearance in a television interview in September 2012.

Abdel Salam talked about the conditions that the Houthis wanted to implement in that interview.  In the interview, Abdel Salam stressed the Houthis’ support for a comprehensive national dialogue conference.

He also tried to deny relations with Iran.

His trading in the Iranian-made carpets has led him to bloodshed to justify the actions of Houthis. In 2016, Abdel Salam led the Houthi delegation to Kuwait for Yemeni negotiations. He urged Kuwait to play a key role in the peace process in Yemen.

 Moreover, Abdel Salam was supposed to head the Houthi delegation to the Geneva negotiations, which were scheduled to take place last September. However, the Houthi militias deliberately foiled the negotiations.