Saudi ambassador says Houthi revenue seizures fuel attacks and stall Yemen peace

• Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen says the Iran-backed militia has diverted state revenues to fund attacks on Yemenis, Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping
• The envoy warns that the conflict is leaving Yemen exhausted while serving foreign agendas and extremist military ambitions

Updated 8 min 13 sec ago

October 20, 2026 22:55

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, accused the Houthis on Tuesday of exploiting the country’s humanitarian and economic crises to finance military operations and undermine peace efforts.

In a post on X, Al-Jaber said the Iran-backed militia diverted state revenue, including taxes, customs duties and telecommunications income, to fund attacks against Yemenis, Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels in international waters. He also said the Houthis had failed to pay public-sector salaries or provide basic services in parts of Yemen under their control.

Al-Jaber pointed to fighting in Taiz, where government forces are facing an intensified Houthi offensive. He accused the militia of besieging civilians, restricting their access to food and medicine and using the humanitarian crisis to advance its agenda.

“Yemen does not belong to the Houthis, and Taiz will not remain hostage to their agenda,” he said.

Al-Jaber cited a 2024 report by a UN Panel of Experts that found the Houthis had used telecommunications networks to raise funds for their drone and coastal defense forces by sending millions of text messages to subscribers.

The panel also reported that Houthi authorities had collected approximately 994 billion Yemeni riyals, worth $4.2 billion, in customs duties on fuel imports passing through ports under their control between April 2022 and June 2024. Including additional fees and profit margins, the experts estimated the militia’s total fuel-sector revenue at 1.34 trillion Yemeni riyals during that period.

Al-Jaber also said the Houthis generated about $2 billion annually through smuggled oil, citing a US Department of the Treasury press release from January. He accused the militia of channeling these proceeds and other state resources into military activity rather than public services.

“The Houthis’ practices reveal a recurring pattern of exploiting crises as instruments of political pressure before portraying themselves as victims and disregarding their responsibility for their own decisions,” Al-Jaber wrote.

He said the result was “an exhausted nation and a population forced to bear the consequences of a project that serves foreign agendas and endless extremist military adventures.”

Al-Jaber accused the Houthis of failing to honor commitments under Yemen’s National Dialogue and a UN-backed peace roadmap. He said the group had drawn Yemen into regional conflicts and then exploited the suffering of Yemenis while blaming others for obstructing peace.

The ambassador rejected Houthi claims of a nationwide blockade, noting that ports in Houthi-controlled Hodeidah continued to receive shipments of food, medicine, fuel and commercial goods.

He cited the Houthis’ seizure of four Yemenia Airways aircraft in June 2024 as an example of their alleged obstruction of peace efforts. He also blamed the group for disrupting operations at Sanaa International Airport, which was later destroyed along with all four aircraft in Israeli airstrikes in May 2025.

The Houthis either rejected or attached conditions to subsequent proposals to restore air services, including an aircraft-leasing initiative and a Jordanian proposal to operate flights between Amman and Sanaa.

Al-Jaber’s comments came amid renewed fighting between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthis. Government-held areas have faced escalating attacks, while strikes this month targeted civilian sites in Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which reportedly killed 13 people.

The humanitarian situation in Taiz has deteriorated as fighting intensifies and major supply routes are cut off. Rising food and fuel prices have prompted thousands of residents to flee.

Local authorities said a Houthi missile strike on a residential neighborhood in Taiz earlier Tuesday killed two teenage girls and wounded six other people.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that the siege was placing civilians in grave danger and called for immediate humanitarian access.

Al-Jaber said Saudi Arabia would continue to protect its territory, citizens and vessels while supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government and efforts to restore security and stability.

He added that the Kingdom would continue to support Yemenis until peace is achieved and the country’s development and prosperity can be restored.

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