Saudi Arabia rejects Senate vote on Yemen as 'interference in its internal affairs'

The Senate voted Thursday to withdraw American support for Saudi Arabia's coalition intervention in Yemen's civil war and to condemn Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder. Riyadh responded early Monday by complaining of American meddling in Saudi affairs.

"The Kingdom categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs, any and all accusations, in any manner, that disrespect its leadership ... and any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or diminish its stature," said a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. The document pledges Saudi Arabia to continued intervention in Yemen and closes with an expression of eagerness to "preserv[e] its relations with the United States," an "allied and friendly government."

Rebukes of this sort from Riyadh are typically reserved for foreign criticism of Saudi Arabia's domestic human rights abuses. Far from initiating new "interference" this past week, the United States has provided material and intelligence support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen since 2015, maintaining involvement even as the Saudi coalition blockade and airstrikes foster the world's most acute humanitarian crisis.

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