Houthis ‘Bear Full Responsibility’ For Red Sea Escalation, UN Security Council Told

Houthi forces “bear full responsibility” for the rapidly escalating crisis in and around the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, Britain’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations told an emergency UN Security Council session on Monday.

Member states called for an end to the flow of arms to the Houthis and urged renewed enforcement of a UN-imposed embargo on weapons supplies to the group.

The meeting, requested by Bahrain, Britain, Denmark, France, Greece and Latvia, came five days after Houthi forces made a rapid advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The offensive saw the group seize the port city of Mokha, Perim Island and the Hanish Islands, while declaring a blockade on Saudi-flagged shipping.

The Houthis’ consolidation of control around the strait, through which about 12% of global trade passes, has pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel and opened another front in the wider conflict involving Iran, alongside Tehran’s disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Briefing the council, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said Houthi forces had continued advancing toward Bab Al-Mandab over the past week, while Yemen’s internationally recognised government launched a counteroffensive across several fronts, including Marib, Taiz and Saada.

Khiari reiterated the UN’s condemnation of Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian and energy infrastructure and called for navigational rights through both Bab Al-Mandab and the Strait of Hormuz to be fully restored. He also urged all parties to engage in UN-led political efforts to resolve the crisis rather than pursue further escalation.

A UN tally put the number of people displaced across Yemen this month at about 125,000, with 40 civilian casualties reported. Women and children accounted for half of those killed and more than half of those injured. Several thousand additional people have crossed into Djibouti.

Yemen’s UN envoy, Abdallah Al-Saadi, told the council that the Houthi offensive was no longer merely a domestic issue but had become “a growing threat to the security of the region, freedom of navigation, energy supplies and one of the most important arteries of global trade.”

Al-Saadi said government forces were regrouping to prevent the Houthis from turning their coastal gains into a permanent military platform. He highlighted the recapture of Aden and said government forces controlled more than 70% of Yemeni territory overall since the war began. He also accused the Houthis of recruiting children into their ranks.

He urged the Security Council to formally hold the Houthis responsible for the escalation, enforce the existing arms embargo and increase support for Yemen’s coast guard and navy.

Bahrain’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jamal Alrowaiei, accused the Houthis of having “squandered every opportunity for confidence building” and described the group as “a tool for destabilization in the region.” He also criticised the international community for failing to take what he called decisive measures to deter the militia.

Manama backed Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Alrowaiei said. He called for stricter enforcement of the arms embargo, accountability for violators and broader sanctions covering drone attacks and assaults on commercial shipping.

The United States, represented by Ambassador Jennifer Locetta, described the escalation as an Iranian-backed campaign carried out through a proxy. She said the attacks on Saudi Arabia and international shipping demonstrated “active cooperation with Tehran” and called on Iran to “cease its support for Houthi terrorist activities” and for the Houthis to withdraw from seized territory.

Washington was working with regional partners to protect freedom of navigation, Locetta said. She reaffirmed US support for Yemen’s government and urged the Security Council to fully implement the existing arms embargo and address continued Iranian support for the Houthis as a matter of international accountability.

Britain’s deputy ambassador, Kate Foster, issued the strongest condemnation during the meeting.

“The Houthis bear full responsibility for this escalation,” Foster said, warning that the group’s efforts to consolidate control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and Bab Al-Mandab posed a direct threat to international shipping. The consequences, she said, would be “felt first and hardest by developing countries.”

Foster called for an immediate Houthi de-escalation and the release of all detained UN and diplomatic workers.

She also pointed to Iran’s “long-standing support” for the Houthis as a key factor behind the crisis, saying UN Security Council resolutions clearly established member states’ obligations to prevent arms and military support from reaching the group.