Yemen’s Ambassador to the United States, Jameela Ali Raja, said the recent Houthi attacks were neither random acts of piracy nor a response to immediate developments, but rather part of a broader Iranian strategy aimed at expanding regional influence and strengthening Tehran’s negotiating leverage.
Raja said the Houthi group does not represent the Yemeni state and prioritizes Iran’s agenda over the interests of the Yemeni people, warning against turning the country into a platform for advancing regional projects and threatening the security of international navigation.
Her remarks came during a roundtable discussion organized by the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., attended by policymakers, researchers, and diplomats. The discussion focused on the latest regional escalation and its repercussions for Yemen and regional security.
Raja said armed militias are inherently inclined to engage in reckless actions without regard for human or material losses and to bypass legitimate state institutions in negotiations and dialogue, according to government media.
She added that the Houthis do not treat Yemen as an independent state whose national interests take precedence. Instead, they seek to transform it into a platform serving the Iranian agenda, including through attacks on ships and threats to maritime security and international trade.
The ambassador accused the Houthi group of exploiting claims of what it calls a “blockade” to conceal its ties to the Iranian agenda. She said the group had obstructed peace efforts from the 2013 National Dialogue Conference through the United Nations-brokered truce in 2022.
She noted that Houthi attacks on oil export facilities had halted crude oil exports and deprived the government of its main source of public revenue, resulting in estimated losses of approximately $6 billion between 2022 and 2026.
Raja said the suspension of oil exports had affected the government’s ability to pay salaries and provide electricity and other essential services. She added that the government, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, had continued to secure financial support and fuel supplies to maintain basic services and alleviate the suffering of civilians.
Addressing the humanitarian consequences of Houthi violations, Raja said the group had detained more than 70 United Nations employees, in addition to humanitarian workers and staff members of foreign missions, while some detainees face death sentences.
She said these practices undermine humanitarian operations at a time when millions of Yemenis depend on international assistance and restrict the ability of international organizations to operate and reach those in need.
Raja also accused the Houthis of hijacking Yemenis’ present and future by imposing an ideological project, altering school curricula, violating human rights, and diverting public resources to finance the war effort.
Regarding air travel, the ambassador said the government had welcomed efforts to facilitate flights between Sana’a and the Jordanian capital, Amman, despite the Houthis’ seizure of four civilian aircraft and their subsequent destruction.
She said the group’s rejection of humanitarian initiatives revealed a clear contradiction between its practices and its claims of seeking to alleviate civilian suffering.
Raja reaffirmed the Yemeni government’s commitment to peace, the continued implementation of reforms, and improving the performance of state institutions, while protecting Yemen’s sovereignty, fulfilling its international obligations, restoring state institutions, and ending the Houthi coup.
She stressed that the interests, security, dignity, and aspirations of the Yemeni people must remain above all other considerations, emphasizing that Yemen must not be allowed to become an arena for conflicts serving regional agendas.
