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Yemeni government calls on UN to blacklist Houthis

On 23 December, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi told the UN General Assembly that he has pledged to “grab” his country from “Iran’s claws”

February 20, 2017 at 12:16 pm

Supporters of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi gather to mark the 6th anniversary of the Yemeni uprising in Taiz, Yemen on February 11, 2017 [Abdulnasser Alseddik / Anadolu Agency]

The internationally-recognised government in Yemen has called on the UN Security Council to designate the Houthis and its allied forces of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh as “terrorist” organisations, Anadolu reported on Sunday. The request was made in a message handed by Yemen’s Representative to the UN, Khalid Al-Yamani, to Secretary General António Guterres, in which Iran was also accused of arming the Houthi militias and interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

“The Houthi militias receive training by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and [Iran-backed] Hezbollah militias,” the message claimed, “and Iran continues its interference in internal Yemeni issues to the degree that pose a threat to international navigation.” Iran’s actions, alleges the Yemeni government, include the supply of arms, finance and logistical aid to the Houthis and their allies, all of which undermine the passage of ships through the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait linking the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni government also accused Iran of seeking to dominate the whole region. Tehran’s support for the Houthis and their allies is part of such efforts, it claims, although this is denied by Iran.

On 23 December, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi told the UN General Assembly that he has pledged to “grab” his country from “Iran’s claws,” accusing it of leading a “destructive project” in the region. He also accused Iran of undermining efforts to reach a political solution for the crisis in Yemen, as well supporting extremism and terrorism.

Before he resigned, US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn described the Houthis as one of the terrorist groups that carry out a proxy war for Iran.