UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States called on Iran on Monday to halt the transfer of an “unprecedented” amount of weaponry to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, allowing their fighters to carry out “reckless attacks” on ships in the Red Sea and elsewhere.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the UN Security Council that if it wants to make progress towards ending the civil war in Yemen, it must act collectively to “call out Iran for its destabilizing role and insist that it does not can hide behind the Houthis.”
He said there is ample evidence that Iran is supplying advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, to the Houthis in violation of UN sanctions.
“To underscore the council’s concern regarding continued violations of the arms embargo, we must do more to strengthen enforcement and deter sanctions violators,” Wood said.
The Houthis say their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war with Hamas in Gaza, which killed more than 35,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks in shipping, it has seized one ship and sunk another since November, the U.S. Maritime Administration said late last month.
Houthi attacks have declined in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted a US-led air strike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined due to the threat.
But Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, warned the council that “hostilities continue” despite there having been a reduction in attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea. gulf of aden and in the Indian Ocean, as well as a reduction in the number of US and British airstrikes against targets in Yemen.
He pointed to an announcement by the Houthis that they will “expand the scope of attacks,” calling it “a worrying provocation in an already volatile situation.”
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that the Israeli announcement on May 6 that it was beginning its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.2 million Palestinians have sought safety, had accelerated the escalation spiral in the region is “one more step”. ”
“There is no doubt that this will have an impact on the situation in the waters surrounding Yemen,” he said, highlighting the Houthis’ opposition to Israeli attacks that harm Palestinian civilians.
But, Nebenzia added, “we call for a rapid cessation of the bombing of commercial ships and any other actions that hinder maritime navigation.”
He sharply criticized the United States and its Western allies, saying their “totally unjustified aggressive attacks” in Yemen violate the UN Charter. He said they will further complicate an already complex situation and will not improve the situation in the Red Sea.
The war between the Houthis and pro-government forces in Yemen supported by a coalition of Gulf Arab states, has intensified since 2014. The Houthis descended from the mountains, seized much of northern Yemen and the country’s capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia. Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed by violence and 3 million have been displaced.
Fighting has declined sharply in Yemen since the truce in April 2022, but hot spots remain in the country
Grundberg recalled that in December the Houthis and the government “took a courageous step towards a peaceful solution” by agreeing to a series of commitments that would provide a nationwide ceasefire, secure desperately needed humanitarian aid and begin a political process to put an end to the conflict.
But UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths reported “alarmingly high” levels of severe food deprivation across the country, which are expected to worsen during the lean harvest season starting in June.
Griffiths also expressed serious concern about the rapidly worsening cholera outbreak. He cited reports of 40,000 suspected cases of cholera and more than 160 deaths – “a sharp increase” since last month, most in Houthi-controlled areas “where hundreds of new cases are reported every day”.
