The White House has condemned “in the strongest terms” the ballistic missile launch this week by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which it said “was aimed at the Saudi royal palace in Riyadh," the official residence of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
A statement by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Thursday urged the United Nations to hold Iran responsible for “repeated and blatant violations” of Security Council resolutions on Yemen.
The White House and Saudi leaders have argued that Yemen rebels have been receiving missiles from Iran in violation of a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution, which bars Tehran from exporting certain kinds of weapons unless approved by the Council. Iranian officials deny the claims.
Last week, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley held a news conference showing missile debris that she said constituted “undeniable” evidence that the weapons the Houthi rebels have been using violate the ban. Experts are divided over whether the evidence Haley offered is conclusive of sanctions violations, but many say it is clear that the rebels are receiving some form of Iranian assistance.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed credit for Tuesday's missile launch, as well as a similar launch last month targeting Riyadh's international airport. The Saudis reported no casualties, saying both missiles had been intercepted while in flight.
After the November missile launch, Saudi Arabia put in place an air and sea blockade in Yemen, saying the move was necessary to prevent shipments of arms from reaching the rebels.
Dire humanitarian situation
The White House statement welcomed the news that the Saudi-led coalition is reopening the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida for at least 30 days to allow humanitarian and commercial shipments to Yemen’s 27 million residents.
The United Nations and aid agencies had been warning that the month long blockade on the Hodeida was threatening Yemenis desperately in need of food and other humanitarian relief. U.N. officials say three million people have been forced from their homes in what is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
The world body’s special envoy for Yemen expressed concern Thursday about an escalation of violence in the country. The envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, condemned the latest Houthi missile launch against Riyadh, calling it "an escalation that hinders peace efforts in Yemen.”
The Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital of Sana'a in late 2014, forcing the country's internationally recognized president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, to flee to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition responded in March 2015 by launching an operation to fight back against the rebels on behalf of Hadi's government. Since then, the World Health Organization says health facilities have reported more than 8,700 conflict-related deaths and 50,000 injuries.
The International Red Cross says there are one million suspected cases of cholera in Yemen, and that more than 80 percent of Yemenis lack food, fuel, clean water and access to health care.
Ahmed, the U.N. envoy, said there is no military solution for the Yemeni conflict and said he is boosting his efforts to contact the warring sides and prepare for resuming a political process.
Thursday’s White House statement called on all parties to support a political solution in Yemen, saying it “is the only way to advance long-term stability in Yemen and end the suffering of the Yemeni people.
“As the largest humanitarian donor to the people of Yemen, the United States remains committed to alleviating the dire human suffering in Yemen,” the statement said.
Reuters reports that airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have killed at least 136 people since December 6. The report quoted the spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville as saying, “We are deeply concerned at the recent surge in civilian casualties in Yemen as a result of intensified air strikes by the … coalition, following the killing of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana’a on Dec. 4.”
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