Saudi Arabia pushed the UN Security Council on Thursday to take a “clear and firm” stand against Houthi militia attacks. The strikes wounded 73 civilians this week. Riyadh says calls for de-escalation ring hollow while outside support keeps the group armed.
Why it matters: The Kingdom frames the strikes on Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran as more than a border dispute. Officials say the attacks threaten international shipping through the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait. 8That corridor carries a large share of global trade, so any disruption ripples far beyond the region.
Saudi Envoy Presses UN Security Council for Enforcement
Driving the news: Saudi Ambassador to the UN Dr. Abdulaziz Alwasil addressed an emergency Security Council session on Thursday. The UK and Bahrain requested the meeting to discuss the attacks. Alwasil condemned the strikes in the strongest terms. He said the international community “cannot call for de-escalation” while it allows “the continued flow of support that enables this militia to continue its hostile and criminal conduct.”
Alwasil said Tuesday’s strikes were not an isolated incident. Instead, he described them as part of a hostile pattern the Houthis have pursued since seizing power from Yemen’s legitimate government in 2014. He also pointed to a council statement from Aug. 7 that condemned earlier missile strikes and attacks on commercial vessels. That warning went unheeded, he said, and the militia answered with further escalation.
The envoy pushed the council to enforce two existing resolutions. Resolution 2216 set an arms embargo and sanctions on the Houthis. Resolution 2722 demanded an immediate halt to attacks on Red Sea shipping. Alwasil also affirmed Saudi Arabia’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter. Riyadh, he said, “will not hesitate to take all measures necessary” to protect its security and territorial integrity.
Alwasil noted that Saudi Arabia has backed nearly every major effort to end the Yemen war. That list includes the Gulf Initiative, the transitional period and the National Dialogue Conference. It also includes the Geneva, Kuwait and Stockholm talks, a 2021 initiative, and the UN-brokered truce in 2022. Each time, he said, the Houthis answered those efforts with renewed violence rather than compromise.
By the numbers:
- 73 civilians wounded, including women and children
- 4 Saudi cities targeted: Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran
- 2 UN resolutions Riyadh wants enforced: 2216 and 2722
- 2014: year of the Houthi coup against Yemen’s government
- 7 August: date of the council’s earlier, unheeded warning
- 2021–2022: years of the most recent peace initiative and UN-brokered truce, both met with renewed Houthi violence
Yemen Backs Riyadh
What they’re saying: Alwasil kept the door open to diplomacy despite the strong language. He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemen’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also repeated Riyadh’s backing for a comprehensive, Yemeni-led settlement to end the war and restore stability for Yemen’s people.
Yemen’s UN ambassador, Abdullah Alsaadi, echoed the Kingdom’s position. He declared Sanaa’s “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and rejected any use of Yemeni territory to threaten the Kingdom or its neighbors. He accused the Houthis of “hijacking” Yemen’s own decisions on war and peace. The militia, he added, operates with military and technical backing from Iran.
Alsaadi credited Saudi Arabia with showing “a great degree of restraint.” He called the Kingdom Yemen’s principal partner on institutions, salaries and services throughout the conflict. Still, he cautioned that “restraint should not be misconstrued as weakness.” Yemen’s security and Saudi Arabia’s security, he said, “cannot be separated from one another.”
The bottom line: Riyadh wants the council to move from statements to enforcement. That means full implementation of the arms embargo, real accountability for those financing the Houthis, and a message clear enough that the militia cannot misread international resolve. Diplomats will watch whether the council follows this session with action, not another statement the Houthis ignore.
