Yemen’s internationally recognized government appealed to <a assurances and to recognize the broader implications of the instability surrounding the strait.
“The Houthi militias’ use of the safety of navigation as a tool for blackmail threatens not only Yemen. It is taking hostage the entire global economy,” said the vice president, Abdullah Abdulkader al Alimi-Bawzer.
Yemeni VP says weapons, <a hands
Arguing that protecting the strait “is the responsibility of every economy that depends on secure supply chains, energy security and freedom of navigation,” he urged the international community to keep weapons and technology from getting into the rebels’ hands.
For years, the U.N. Security Council has maintained an arms embargo on the Houthis, alongside travel bans and asset freezes targeting their senior leadership.
Although Iran denies providing arms to the Houthis, authorities have intercepted numerous shipments of smuggled Iranian weapons and components destined for Yemen. A 2024 report by U.N. experts detailed extensive military cooperation between the Houthis, Iran, and its regional allies. Al Alimi-Bawzer argued on Thursday that the rebels would have been unable to sustain their operations for twelve years without the support of Iranian military technology, expertise, and weaponry.
The Houthis claimed on Thursday to have launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward the Jazan province in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesperson, stated that the kingdom intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at the Red Sea port of Yanbu and the city of Taif, attributing the attacks to the Houthis.
His remarks followed warnings from Saudi civil defense officials, who later confirmed that the threat had subsided.
Fighting risks full-scale return to civil war
The recent escalation in Yemen threatens to reignite a full-scale civil war, a conflict that has already claimed over 150,000 lives and displaced millions. With nearly 130,000 people newly displaced and hundreds killed, the humanitarian crisis in the Arab world’s poorest nation continues to deteriorate.
The clashes near the critical Red Sea shipping corridor and the Houthi-led blockade against Saudi Arabia—the world’s leading oil exporter—have unsettled global markets. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has gained increased strategic importance since Iran asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz <a
Originally reported by www.independent.co.uk. This article has been independently rewritten for republication.
