Yemen Urges UN Action Against Houthis, Calls Iran a Destabilising Force

Yemen's internationally recognised government used the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to press for a harder international line against the Houthi movement, which it accused Iran of arming and equipping.

Addressing the assembly in New York, Abdullah Abdulkader Al Alimi-Bawzer, a member of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, said the Houthis would not have been able to sustain their takeover or extend their reach beyond Yemen's borders without outside backing. He pointed to weapons, expertise and military technology that he said the group receives from Iran, describing Tehran as a rogue regime.

Al-Alimi argued that the Houthi threat is no longer confined to Yemen, saying it has spread to neighbouring regions and to international passages. In his remarks, he characterised the group not merely as a local militia but as an extension of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which he said uses other armed movements as tools to threaten international peace and security.

He also criticised what he described as the world's hesitation in designating the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, saying that delay gave the group room to widen its influence and increase the danger it poses.

Turning to Washington, al-Alimi welcomed the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump toward the Houthis, saying it had disrupted the group's calculations. He expressed the Yemeni government's appreciation for what he called Trump's correct understanding of the language the Houthis respond to, describing it as a language of decisiveness.

The remarks came as tensions in Yemen and the wider region have risen again, with the Houthis stepping up attacks beyond Yemen's borders in recent weeks.