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<\/p>\nNew York \u2013 SABA:
\nMinister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Dr. Afrah Al Zouba, met today with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Donald Blome, to discuss the Houthi terrorist escalation and its repercussions on the security of Yemen and the region, the freedom of international navigation, and ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
\nDuring the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Minister affirmed that the Houthi escalation constitutes a strategic threat that goes beyond Yemen\u2019s borders and forms part of Iranian efforts to pressure the global economy by using Bab al Mandab as a platform for geopolitical blackmail, threatening navigation, trade routes, and energy supplies, in parallel with the Iranian regime\u2019s disruption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
\nShe emphasized that the government is fulfilling its national responsibilities in protecting citizens, defending state institutions, and confronting the Houthi escalation, stressing that the security of the Red Sea, Bab al Mandab, and international trade routes begins with securing territory, weakening the Houthi militia, and neutralizing its threats.
\nThe Minister highlighted the casualties and waves of displacement caused by Houthi attacks, affirming that the government, alongside confronting the escalation, is working to strengthen the response to the needs of displaced families and alleviate their suffering in coordination with local authorities and partners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She called for mobilizing effective international support to address the sources of the threat by cutting Iranian support to the militia, combating its weapons smuggling and financing networks, and enabling the Yemeni state to extend its authority over its coasts, ports, islands, and territorial waters. She stressed that regional security and the safety of international navigation cannot remain hostage to a militia project tied to an external agenda.
\nThe Minister warned of coordination between the Houthi militia and armed and terrorist networks in the Horn of Africa and the region, and the cross border implications that threaten Yemen, neighboring countries, and counterterrorism efforts. She underscored the need for coordinated international action to confront these networks and limit their ability to expand their activities.
\nFor his part, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State reaffirmed his country\u2019s support for the Yemeni government and the Presidential Leadership Council in confronting the Houthi escalation, condemning the militia\u2019s attacks and its threats to Yemen, the region, and international navigation. He emphasized the United States\u2019 commitment to continued coordination and cooperation to strengthen security, stability, and counterterrorism efforts.
\nThe meeting was attended by Yemen\u2019s Ambassador to the United States, Jamila Rajaa, and the Minister\u2019s Political Adviser, Ambassador Marwan Noman. From the U.S. side, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Kyle Liston, attended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York \u2013 SABA: Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Dr. Afrah Al Zouba, met today with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Donald Blome, to discuss the Houthi terrorist escalation and its repercussions on the security of Yemen and the region, the freedom of international navigation, and ways to strengthen bilateral …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":39757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[74,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-breaking-news","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-24-at-5.52.31-PM-3.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39747,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39744\/revisions\/39747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mofa-ye.org\/Pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}