G7 Urges Iran to End Support for Houthis

G7 nations have called on Iran to end its arming of and support for Yemen’s Houthis, warning that Tehran’s backing threatened international trade and global energy security.

The group’s call comes as world leaders gather in New York City for the annual U.N. General Assembly from Sept. 22 to Sept. 29, with the conflict involving Iran and its regional allies expected to dominate discussions.

The foreign ministers of the G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States—together with the European Union’s High Representative, condemned what they described as the Houthis’ continued attacks in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia.

“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,” the ministers said in a statement.

They warned that continued attacks threatened maritime security and could cause lasting disruptions to global supply chains, particularly shipments of energy, fertilizer, and food.

The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen’s capital since 2014, seized much of the country’s Red Sea coastline earlier this month in an offensive that routed forces aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

Next year will mark the centenary of the 1927 Treaty of Jeddah, under which the UK recognized the independence and sovereignty of Ibn Saud’s kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, laying an important foundation for modern UK–Saudi relations five years before the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established.

The UK this week announced additional military support for Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s request for backing.

British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said on Tuesday that London would provide the Saudis with a Royal Air Force Voyager air-to-air refueling aircraft.

“The Houthis are a dangerous threat to regional stability and it is in the UK’s national economic and security interest that they do not succeed,” Streeting said.

As the Houthis advanced and targeted Saudi cities and infrastructure, Riyadh has responded with airstrikes against Houthi positions.

On Sept. 19, the Saudi forces intercepted a ballistic missile targeting Riyadh and thwarted attacks on the four cities of Baish, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on Sept. 21 that Saudi Arabia had carried out 157 airstrikes and missile attacks across several Yemeni provinces in a single day, bringing the total number of strikes since the latest escalation began to 917.

Saudi Arabia’s regional partners have condemned the attacks on Riyadh and Saudi facilities. The Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said on Sept. 20 that members supported measures taken to protect the kingdom’s security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

Albudaiwi called for a firm international response to deter the Houthis’ persistent attempts to target civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Earlier this month, Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and Pakistan condemned attacks on Saudi infrastructure and voiced support for the kingdom.

Turkey, which signed the Mecca Defense Alliance with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in August, has also signaled it is prepared to provide technical military assistance to Saudi Arabia if requested.

“We see there are very serious attacks on Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty. We have an alliance agreement in our pact. We ​are in serious solidarity on this point. … They may have some military needs, especially on some technical ​issues. We would have no issues in meeting these,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told broadcaster NTV.

Despite the heightened tensions, the United States granted visas to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and other members of Iran’s delegation to attend this week’s high-level U.N. meetings.

The Houthis have maintained that they do not intend to target U.S. or other foreign commercial vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait, with the exception of what senior Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti described as the “Saudi enemy.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration had held discussions with the Houthis and that the group “don’t want to fight with us.”