NEW YORK, 22 Sept. - (ANA) - G7 foreign ministers have called on Iran to end its arming and support of the Houthis in Yemen, warning its actions risk undermining international trade and creating global instability.

 

The ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US issued the appeal after meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

 

“We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministers said in a statement.

 

The G7, a grouping of seven major industrialised democracies, has increasingly focused on the wider economic and security consequences of the US-Iran war, including threats to energy supplies and shipping.

 

The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni movement that controls Sanaa and large parts of northern and western Yemen, have emerged as a major regional force after years of conflict with Saudi-backed forces.

 

Iran has provided the Houthis with weapons, funding, training and technical support, while Tehran denies directly directing their operations. The group has nevertheless become an important source of Iranian regional leverage.

 

Since the US-Iran war began in February, Houthi control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast has taken on added significance, giving Tehran another potential pressure point against Gulf states and regional energy routes.

 

“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,” the ministers said.

 

The statement follows a major Houthi advance along Yemen’s western coast, including the capture of Mokha and strategic islands that give the group effective control of the Bab Al Mandeb strait.

 

The waterway has become more important for Saudi energy exports after Iran restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, making the Bab Al Mandeb strait a potential alternative route for Gulf oil reaching global markets.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/22 September 2026 - -