In a fiery UN Security Council briefing, US envoy Dorothy Shea accused the Houthis of deadly attacks on civilian cargo ships, kidnapping crew members, and working hand-in-hand with Iran to destabilize the Middle East and threaten Israel.
At a tense United Nations Security Council session on Yemen, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Acting US Representative to the UN, delivered a scathing condemnation of the Iran-backed Houthi militia, labeling recent Red Sea assaults on commercial vessels as “unprovoked terror attacks.”
Deadly Attacks on the High Seas
Shea detailed strikes on the Magic Seas and Eternity C, revealing devastating consequences:
- At least 4 mariners killed
- Many others wounded
- Complete destruction of both ships
- 11 crew members kidnapped from the Eternity C
“The Houthis even obstructed rescue operations,” Shea charged, demanding the immediate, unconditional release of all kidnapped crew, as well as UN, NGO, and diplomatic staff held hostage for over a year.
Threats to Israel and Regional Stability
The US envoy warned the Security Council of explicit Houthi threats to ships docking at Israeli ports. On August 8, she said, the Houthis even fired a missile at Israel targeting Ben Gurion Airport.
“We stand with Israel in its right to self-defense against the Houthis,” Shea affirmed.
Iran’s Fingerprints All Over the Escalation
Shea accused Tehran of fueling the crisis:
“Iran’s defiance of this Council’s resolutions enables the Houthis to escalate regional tensions.”
She praised Yemeni government-aligned forces for seizing 750 tons of Iranian weapons in July and urged the UN Secretariat to expedite an inspection by the Yemen Panel of Experts.
Humanitarian Crisis Exploited
The ambassador accused the Houthis of raiding humanitarian warehouses, threatening aid agencies, and weaponizing relief operations to advance criminal enterprises. She renewed Washington’s call to end the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) and urged stronger backing for the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), which she said was key to stopping arms smuggling to the Houthis.
“The fact that the Houthis want UNVIM abolished proves its effectiveness,” Shea said.
