Iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN General Assembly

22 September 2026, 05: 21 BST. Updated 1 hour ago.

Key points

• The G7 statement comes ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to speak.
• The UN estimates that in all, more than 120, 000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting along Yemen's Red Sea coast.
• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has additionally requested military backing from President Donald Trump, US media documented.
• Trump has wavered for weeks over whether to act on a Saudi request for support in fighting the Houthis, the New York Times noted on Monday.
• When the Houthis ousted the administration from the capital, Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014.

Iran must "end its arming of and support" for the Houthis in Yemen, the foreign ministers of G7 nations have remarked in a joint statement.

Meanwhile, the G7 additionally condemned "in the strongest terms" Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, adding that the recent escalation in fighting against Saudi-backed pro-government forces in Yemen represented a threat to regional and global energy security.

Thousands of refugees have fled Yemen in recent days after the Iran-backed group seized territory along the country's Red Sea coastline, including near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to a key global shipping route.

Iran has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and notes it only supports them politically.

Yemenis flee throughout Red Sea as Houthis and Saudi-backed forces escalate war. Houthis say they targeted Saudi capital with ballistic missiles.

For context, the G7 statement comes ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to speak.

"We call 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, " remarked the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

It went on: "Their reprehensible actions constitute a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability."

"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, " the ministers remarked.

Their statement was issued after a gathering on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of targeting civilians in Yemen in its air strikes throughout the group's territory.

Houth-run Saba news agency documented that a pre-dawn strike on a house in the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Tuesday killed six residents, including two children and a woman.

According to Saba additionally, nine detainees were killed in an attack on a prison in al-Hazm, in Jawf province, on Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' health ministry remarked two members of one family were killed in a strike on Jawf province on Monday, and that one person was killed in Taiz. The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's administration has not yet commented.

Meanwhile, government-run media documented that civilians were injured in a Houthi missile attack on a market in the Mudaribah wa al-Ara district of Lahj province, concerning 20km (12 miles) east of Houthi-controlled territory.

Verified CCTV footage indicated a munition hitting an area crowded with residents and vehicles, causing a sizeable explosion. Individuals flee as the air is filled with dust and smoke. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

In practice, the UN estimates that in all, more than 120, 000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

Earlier this month, the Houthis. This person had already seized most of the populated parts of Yemen, took control of Bab al-Mandab, a narrow, maritime chokepoint where the southern Red Sea flows into the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.

Saudi Arabia has retaliated with hundreds of air strikes in the region.

Notably, the Houthis have additionally rolled out hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia, including the capital city, Riyadh.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has remarked the UK will provide "defensive air-to-air refuelling" backing for Saudi Arabia, involving a single British aircraft, a Voyager, based out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Burnham remarked the announcement followed a request from Saudi Arabia for "military support". It he agreed to on the advice of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

Notably, a diplomatic source informed AFP that France has pledged backing as well, and notes is ready to work on "securing" Saudi energy infrastructure via a "strictly defensive approach".

In practice, the US president had earlier informed Fox News that he was in "deciding mode" as he considered options for the next steps in the war against Iran.

On Sunday, US embassies throughout the Middle East issued new security alerts as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed coalition in Yemen intensified.

For context, the Houthis declare themselves to be part of the Iranian-led "axis of resistance" against Israel, the US and the wider West – along with armed group such as Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Although Iran has denied arming the Houthis in violation of a UN embargo, the UK and other Western powers have remarked their naval forces have repeatedly intercepted Iranian weapons shipments bound for Yemen during the civil war.

Notably, a panel of UN experts additionally concluded in 2024 that the Houthis had been transformed into a powerful military organisation due to the transfer of materiel, assistance and training from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah and Iraqi specialists.

When the Houthis ousted the administration from the capital, Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014. After the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule, the conflict escalated in 2015.

When the Houthis confirmed a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, a four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July.

As well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom, the Houthis remarked they were retaliating for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory.

Since taking control of Bab al-Mandab, they have remarked they pose no threat to international shipping but reiterated that they would continue to target vessels from Saudi Arabia.

In short, iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.