It’s been a year since Yemen’s Houthi extremists launched the first of many missile and armed drone attacks against Israel, in support of Hamas. By mid-November of last year, this Iran-backed militant group was launching almost daily drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz, thus effectively choking off the busy shipping lanes through the Red and Arabian Seas.
“Much has changed in the months since. And yet, the Houthis continue to sow chaos and disruption, threatening international peace and security,” said Robert Wood, U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.N.
“Over the last year, the Houthis have taken the lives of innocent seafarers and disrupted essential imports to regional populations. They have boasted about their increasingly sophisticated weapons, which not only cause significant damage to passing ships, but threaten environmental disaster,” he said.
“And a few weeks ago, just hours after Israel eliminated the leader of Hezbollah, the Houthis fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at civilian infrastructure in Israel – including Ben Gurion International Airport.”
“The Houthis are not acting alone. There is verifiable evidence they have been receiving weapons and military supplies from Iran, in violation of the UN arms embargo,” said Ambassador Wood. At the same time, he took note of reports that an unnamed country, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has “considered providing the Houthis with supersonic anti-ship ballistic missiles and may be negotiating to give them small arms.”
“And so, it has never been more important to enforce the arms embargo established under Resolution 2216. Put simply: violators should know there will be costs to supplying arms to the Houthis. In addition, this Council should take steps to strengthen the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism,” he said.
“For our part,” said Ambassador Wood, “the United States has provided a million dollars to [the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, or] UNVIM in 2024, and we have approached many capitals to request additional contribution to its 2025 budget with no restrictions.”
“Now is the time for everyone to step up, and provide the funds needed for UNVIM to hire additional monitors and fulfill its mission. Because frankly, it needs to fulfill its mission,” he said.
“This mechanism isn’t perfect,” said Ambassador Wood, “but it is a way to ensure arms and related materiel are not illicitly smuggled to the Houthis by Iran, or any other malign actor.”
