Gulf States Condemn Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia as Rebels Seize Strategic Yemeni Port of Mokha

During an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Yemen held on Thursday, Gulf states strongly condemned ongoing attacks by the Houthis directed at Saudi Arabia, warning that such actions pose a direct and serious threat to regional security and stability.

Speaking on behalf of the six member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council—comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—Bahrain’s UN ambassador, Jamal Alrowaiei, highlighted the growing danger. The GCC explicitly condemned the Houthi threats against maritime security and freedom of navigation, labeling them a blatant challenge to the international community that severely endangers ships, crews, and global trade.

Mr Alrowaiei emphasized that the international community, and specifically the Security Council, must take a firm stance against these violations and hold both the perpetrators and their supporters fully accountable.

The diplomatic warnings came as Houthi rebels successfully seized control of Mokha on Thursday, according to statements from both Houthi and Yemeni officials. The strategic port city is situated approximately 80km from the Bab Al Mandeb strait, a crucial global trade artery linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Addressing the Security Council, UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned that the region is now at immediate risk of falling back into a prolonged war and a wider regional confrontation following more than four years of relative calm.

"This renewed war should alarm us all," Mr Grundberg stated, noting that the recent developments effectively mark the end of the relative calm experienced under the UN-brokered truce. He stressed that the situation remains highly fluid and that the international community must actively engage to prevent Yemen from descending into a far more dangerous conflict.