The foreign ministers of the G7 nations have called on Iran to “end its arming of and support” for the Houthis in Yemen, as fighting between the Iran-backed group and Saudi-backed forces escalates.
In a joint statement issued after a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the G7 also condemned “in the strongest terms” Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, reports BBC.
The ministers warned that the recent escalation in Yemen posed a threat to regional and global energy security.
“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,” said the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
The statement came ahead of the annual UN General Assembly, where senior Iranian officials are due to address the gathering.
Thousands of refugees have fled Yemen in recent days after the Houthis seized territory along the country’s Red Sea coast, including areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping route for global trade.
At least six people were killed in Saudi strikes on the strategic Yemeni city of Mokha, AFP reported, citing Houthi-affiliated media.
Two children and a woman were among those killed, while eight others were injured in the strikes on Mokha, which the Houthis seized from pro-government forces earlier this month.
Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, has not commented on the reported strikes.
The UN estimates that more than 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting along the country’s Red Sea coast.
Earlier this month, the Houthis, who already controlled most of Yemen’s populated areas, seized Bab al-Mandab, a narrow maritime chokepoint where the southern Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.
Saudi Arabia has responded with hundreds of air strikes in the region.
The Houthis have also launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia, including the capital Riyadh.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK would provide “defensive air-to-air refuelling” support to Saudi Arabia using a single British Voyager aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Burnham said Saudi Arabia had requested “military support”, which he approved after taking advice from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also asked US President Donald Trump for military support, according to US media reports.
Trump has spent weeks weighing whether to respond to the Saudi request for help in its fight against the Houthis, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The US president had earlier told 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 across the Middle East issued fresh security alerts as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed coalition in Yemen intensified.
The Houthis describe themselves as part of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US and the wider West, alongside armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Tehran has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis, saying it only provides political support.
