Yemen Condemns U.N. Envoy’s ‘Biased’ Statement on Red Sea Escalation

Yemen’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a “biased” statement by the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, saying he ignored the underlying causes of the escalation in the Red Sea.

In a statement issued Friday, the ministry said the envoy’s remarks lacked neutrality and failed to acknowledge the “genocidal crimes committed by the Zionist entity in Gaza,” which it said were the true cause of the Red Sea tensions.

The ministry criticized the U.N. and international community for inaction in the face of these crimes.

It said the U.N. envoy should have expressed concern over the Israeli “aggression against Yemen,” which it said targets civilian infrastructure vital to the population.

The envoy’s silence on these attacks in his latest briefing to the U.N. Security Council was described as a clear sign of imbalance, it added.

This perceived bias, the ministry warned, could further strain Sana’a’s engagement with the envoy, whose role must remain impartial. Continued negative positions, it added, could force the Yemeni government to take further measures beyond suspending contact with his office.

Reiterating its support for freedom of navigation, the ministry said that the maritime ban in the Red Sea targets only the occupying entity and aims to pressure it into ending its assault on Gaza.

It noted that Sana’a paused attacks after a ceasefire but resumed them when the Israeli regime violated the agreement.

The ministry said Yemen’s stance is rooted in religious, humanitarian, and moral obligations and aligns with international law, including the Genocide Convention.

It called on the U.N. envoy to focus on his mandate to promote peace and ease the suffering of the Yemeni people, now in their tenth year of war.

Grundberg on Wednesday warned against Yemen being drawn deeper into regional crises involving Israel.

“The stakes for Yemen are simply too high,” he warned. “Yemen’s future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve.”

The Yemeni armed forces have been carrying out military operations against Israel’s interests in the Red Sea since late 2023 with the declared aim of putting an end to the Tel Aviv regime’s genocide in Gaza.