Houthis expand Saudi oil attacks, Red Sea control since September
Foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, joined by the European Union, issued the joint statement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
The ministers said the state of affairs in Yemen posed an “unacceptable threat to regional stability and security, to global energy security as well as to navigational rights and freedoms, and maritime security in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.” The G7 said it also criticized Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels and an intensification of the fighting in Yemen’s civil war, and said the situation threatened the region and global energy security.
The G7 called on the Houthis to “immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith.” It described Houthi actions as “reprehensible” and said they constitute “a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability.”
The group said, “Looking forward, we will continue to support the legitimate Government of Yemen and reaffirm our strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen,” adding that G7 countries’ support lay with the legitimate Yemeni government.
The statement preceded Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Tehran has in the past acknowledged its support for the Houthis but insists the backing is limited to political support and strongly refutes that it provides weapons to the group.
Since the start of September, the Houthis have stepped up their military campaign targeting Saudi oil infrastructure, ships sailing to and from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports, and have increased the territory they occupy in western Yemen in a southern advance that has seen them effectively seize control of the key Bab al-Mandab Strait entrance to the Red Sea.