By Al-Fassel | 2024-05-16

US Ambassador Robert Wood called on Iran to "cease its unlawful weapons transfers and enablement of the Houthis' illegal and reckless attacks," during a May 13 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Yemen.

It is necessary to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and put the country back on a more positive trajectory, he said at the briefing, where UN Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg and humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths also spoke.

"It is abundantly clear that the Houthis and their attacks in the Red Sea, and increasingly now in the Indian Ocean, are jeopardizing the potential benefits of a political resolution between the Yemeni parties," he said.

The durability of a UN-brokered truce that went into effect in April 2022 still holds promise for an end to the conflict, he said.

But the "sad reality today is that Houthi attacks against commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea have made continued progress towards a sustainable peace elusive," he said, adding that "the humanitarian situation has worsened."

The Houthis's attacks have driven up prices of goods, food and essentials, in a country where more than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, he said.

Millions of people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition, while many remain internally displaced and lack access to protection and health services, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.

"As a result, a cholera outbreak is spreading across northern and southern Yemen," he said.

"To provide relief to the Yemeni people and allow desperately needed food and supplies into Yemen, the Houthis must cease their attacks on international shipping, consistent with UNSC Resolution 2722," Wood said.

'Iran cannot hide'

"We have already pointed to the extensive evidence of Iran's provision of advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, to the Houthis, in violation of UN sanctions, which further promote regional instability," Wood said.

"We must collectively call Iran out for its destabilizing role and insist that it cannot hide behind the Houthis," he added.

The scale and diversity of materiel currently being transferred to the Houthis in violation of UNSCRs is "unprecedented," Wood said.

He called for a redoubling of collective efforts to prevent the import of weapons and to ensure compliance with the arms embargo to put Yemen on a more positive trajectory.

"We continue to believe that the best path to stability is negotiating an inclusive Yemeni-Yemeni peace process, under UN auspices," he said.