G7 foreign ministers demand Houthis halt strikes on Saudi Arabia
Notably, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations have condemned what they called "unacceptable continued strikes" by Yemen's Houthis against Saudi Arabia.
Notably, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations have condemned what they called "unacceptable continued strikes" by Yemen's Houthis against Saudi Arabia.
Article outline
- What happened
- Background
- The bottom line
In practice, the ministers issued the statement on Monday after an informal gathering on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, " the ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States remarked in the statement.
In practice, the ministers pressed 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".
They additionally called on Iran to stop arming and supporting the group, saying Tehran is in violation of past UN Security Council resolutions. They continued that Iran's backing of the Houthis constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation that risked undermining international trade and creating global instability.
For context, the latest escalation in the Arab region's most impoverished nation follows a period of relative calm that had largely held since the UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 between the Iran-aligned group and the Saudi-backed Yemeni administration.
Taken together, the developments around G7 foreign ministers demand Houthis halt strikes on Saudi Arabia point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.
