The conflict expanding across the Middle East has now arrived on Yemen’s shores, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, warning that attacks by Houthi militants on critical waterways are imperiling global trade and threatening to pull Yemen into the “vortex” of the wider war.
“Yemen today faces a more serious risk of return to large-scale conflict than at any point since the 2022 UN-mediated truce,” said Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen , as he briefed the 15-member Council on recent developments.
Citing intensifying military activity along the country’s frontline – including recent attacks by the group Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis – he warned that regional trade and energy flows are already under extreme pressure amid the Strait of Hormuz standoff.
“Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden […] risk deepening Yemen’s entanglement with the wider regional confrontation,” he added.
Tensions Threatening Hard-Won Truce
In Yemen itself, he said, mounting tensions are now threatening a hard-won truce – first mediated with United Nations support in 2022 and renewed several times since – which brought much-needed calm to one of the world’s most dire conflicts. The Special Envoy has credited the truce with a sharp reduction in violence in several briefings over recent years.
By contrast, he recounted several serious incidents in July, some of them deadly. An unauthorized flight from Tehran toward the Yemeni city of Sana’a was followed by airstrikes on Sana’a’s airport, missile attacks on Abha airport and strikes on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. And just this week, he said, a Houthi missile attack on a commercial vessel killed several crew members.
“For four years, and well beyond its formal expiry, the truce kept Yemen’s front lines relatively quiet,” he said. Even amid the wider turmoil that has engulfed the region since 2023, Yemen remained mostly calm, providing much-needed respite for civilians.
However, he said, the truce was always designed as a means, not an end. Its primary objective was to open the way to negotiations on a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. A return to large-scale fighting now would come at an “unforgiving moment”, with Yemen’s State institutions still fragmented, its economy unstable and the wider region engulfed by war.
Citing his meetings with representatives of the parties in recent weeks, he said both sides – the Government and the Houthis – must immediately de-escalate and work towards a ceasefire. “Economic de-escalation” is urgently needed, and the resumption of oil exports, with appropriate security guarantees, would provide a critical source of income for Yemen’s recovery.
“I am convinced that a negotiated off-ramp remains possible,” he stressed, also calling on the Houthis to take urgent steps to release the 73 UN personnel still arbitrarily detained alongside non-governmental colleagues.
Millions of Yemenis Face Daily Deprivation
Also briefing the Council was Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who underscored that – despite the years of calmer security conditions – millions of Yemenis still face impossible daily choices: “Food or medicine, education or labour, survival or displacement.”
The toll on women and girls is especially alarming, he said, as nearly 11 million women and girls require humanitarian support. Four out of five women lack access to life-saving reproductive health services, and an estimated three women die every day from preventable, pregnancy-related complications.
In the city of Marib, he said, authorities have announced a health emergency in response to a measles outbreak. Meanwhile, 6 million people across the country – the highest number globally – are experiencing “emergency” levels of deprivation, nearing famine.
Funding Shortages Crippling Critical UN Aid Operations
“While these statistics are staggering, they must not numb us,” he stressed. Humanitarians continue to deliver, despite movement restrictions and violence against staff. In 2025, he said, the UN reached an average of 5.3 million people monthly. Now, however, funding shortages fuelled by geopolitical uncertainty and a lack of confidence have crippled the UN’s operations.
With the humanitarian appeal just barely 20 per cent funded, the math is simple, he said, warning that cuts mean fewer rations, closed clinics and disappearing services. Against that backdrop, he urged donors to provide flexible, predictable funding and pleaded with Council members not to lose focus. “Your unity and advocacy are essential to prevent further suffering,” he said.
Council members, joined by the representative of Yemen, then took the floor to express their positions.
Time for Firm Stance against Houthi Attacks
“The security of navigation in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden is a matter of critical international importance,” said Greece’s speaker, emphasizing that recent attacks cannot be viewed in isolation from wider maritime security challenges across the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz. “The Houthis must not jeopardize maritime security in the Red Sea, must not drag Yemen into a wider regional conflict and must not undermine efforts towards a sustainable political settlement,” he stressed.
Bahrain’s representative also condemned the Iran-backed Houthis’ continued pursuit of foreign agendas “at the expense of the lives, security, livelihoods and future of the Yemeni people”, as well as their threats to maritime navigation. The Council must adopt a clear and firm stance to protect seafarers and hold accountable those responsible for attacks targeting vessels and shipping lanes, she stressed, warning that turning a blind eye to those attacks will only embolden the perpetrators.
The representative of Pakistan strongly condemned the 11 August attack against the Tihamah, a commercial vessel traversing the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, which resulted in the deaths of three Pakistani and one Indonesian crew members. Agreeing with other speakers that the Council must protect seafarers in line with international law, he also called for a steady focus on Yemen’s “acute” humanitarian needs.
France’s speaker echoed many of those points, recalling that Council resolution 2722 (2024) called for respect for freedom of navigation and maritime security. For its part, France will remain engaged as part of the European Union’s operation EUNAVFOR Aspides – launched in 2024 to protect commercial shipping and ensure freedom of navigation against Houthi attacks – and will continue to insist that Tehran stop fuelling the rising tensions in Yemen.
Move Beyond Conflict Management to Decisive Political Resolution
Several representatives focused on the escalating humanitarian crisis and the risk that Yemen will be drawn further into the complex wars still raging across the region.
The representative of the United Kingdom, for one, said that her country will continue working with partners to support the humanitarian response in Yemen, building on more than $180 million of funding extended in 2025 for life-saving assistance. Colombia’s delegate warned that any additional escalation will only exacerbate the country’s crisis and put a political resolution further out of reach.
The representative of Liberia, who also spoke on behalf of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, warned that Yemen must not become a theatre for broader regional confrontation. “The future of Yemen must be written by Yemeni hands,” he stressed, urging the parties to move “beyond conflict management” and towards a decisive political resolution.
Latvia’s representative, meanwhile, added that the Houthis’ continued arbitrary detention of UN, diplomatic and civil society staff – for years – is both deeply disturbing and unacceptable.
“To properly address the Yemeni issue, we must view it in the broader context of the Middle East,” said China’s delegate. Emphasizing that countries of the region are “permanent neighbors”, he said Israel and all relevant parties should fully implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, while the United States and Iran should return to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed in June. Indeed, he stressed, it is unacceptable for “the law of the jungle” to dictate the fate of entire countries and their people.
Yemenis Paying Price for Iran’s Backing of Houthi
The representative of the United States recalled that the Houthis have targeted more than seven Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea, as well as key energy infrastructure, in recent weeks. These actions clearly indicate active cooperation with Tehran, she stressed, underlining the United States’ strong support for Yemen’s Government and demanding an end to all Houthi attacks.
“The Houthis have turned the territory of Yemen into a platform for the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] militia […] dragging Yemen into yet more insecurity and instability,” agreed Yemen’s representative. For more than a decade, Yemeni civilians have paid a tragic price resulting from a war waged by the terrorist Houthi militias, who have chosen “the agenda of the Iranian regime” over the well-being of their own people.
Outlining the Houthis’ countless violations over recent years, he said they are now attempting to establish an airbridge between Iran and Sana’a by which to transfer deadly munitions, while increasingly attacking neighbouring countries. Condemnations by the Council are important, but they must be coupled with tangible actions – including halting the smuggling of weapons and military technology to the Houthis, he stressed.
Israel, United States to Blame
Striking a different tone, the Russian Federation’s delegate said the prolonged stagnation in the Yemeni peace process forced the Houthis to be “dragged into a regional confrontation initiated by the [United States] and Israel”. Calling for an immediate resumption of negotiations, she added that a political resolution will only be possible through dialogue that considers “the fair interests of all of the leading political forces in the country”, including the Houthis.
