US Envoy to Yemen Says Houthis Are Suffering from a Liquidity Crisis

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

US Envoy to Yemen Says Houthis Are Suffering from a Liquidity Crisis

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

US Special Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking said the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen were facing economic pressure and were trying to escape this crisis by launching attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Lenderking was speaking from Oman where he met with Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi. The envoy had also visited Saudi Arabia on his latest tour of the region.

At a digital press briefing, he noted the Houthis’ introduction of a new coin in some parts of Yemen. “What this shows us is that there is economic pressure that the Houthis are facing,” he said in response to Asharq Al-Awsat's question about the new currency.

“I’ve talked about the economic pressure that the Houthis are placing on international shipping, which is harming regional economies, but it’s also harming Yemen. I would point to a 15 percent reduction in ships being able to dock at Hodeidah Port, which is a lifeblood for the Yemeni people,” he went on to say.

“These actions on Red Sea shipping have obstructed humanitarian supplies from reaching the Yemeni people. And that’s why we say that these attacks are misplaced and why they’re reckless and indiscriminate,” stressed Lenderking.

“This introduction of a new coin shows is economic pressure that is being felt by the Houthis. There is a liquidity crisis in Yemen,” he remarked.

“What this all points to is the importance of returning Yemen to a period of stability where its economic resources can be used to promote stability and benefit for all Yemenis, where salaries can be paid according to the terms of the UN roadmap, where Yemen’s fisheries are not endangered by attacks on oil tankers and other ships that could threaten these vital ecosystems,” he continued.

“That’s, again, why we need to make this push toward the Yemen peace effort, which will help the humanitarian situation and also help Yemen – Yemenis rebuild their economy,” he added.

On the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Lenderking said: “The Houthis claim that their actions are a response to the conflict in Gaza, but their attacks only hurt ordinary people in the region.”

“These negative impacts are due exclusively to Houthi recklessness and Iran’s efforts to sow instability across the region. These attacks serve nothing more than a narrow Houthi agenda. Iran continues to enable these attacks through arms funding and intelligence support to the Houthis, reminding the world that they are the leading sponsor of terrorism,” he declared.

“The Houthis’ attacks against civilians and commercial ships are acts of terrorism. This is further exemplified by their seizure last November and continued unlawful detention of the MV Galaxy Leader and its 25-member crew,” he noted.

“Houthi attacks must stop so we can return our focus to the Yemen peace effort and direct our full attention towards supporting the Palestinians and their legitimate aspirations for a two-state solution, which Houthi behavior, frankly, is complicating and undermining,” Lenderking stressed.

“Houthi actions endanger the lives of civilian seafarers, disrupt the flow of food and other essential commodities to people worldwide, undermine navigational rights and freedoms, and irreparably harm the marine environment and sensitive ecosystems that Yemeni fishermen depend on,” he went on to say.

“The Houthi attacks are raising prices for consumers and jeopardizing the regional development goals of countries in the region that depend on shipping and international trade, including Oman. These attacks are also not helping Yemen, which remains in dire need of humanitarian and economic support,” he said.

“My hope as the envoy for Yemen is that we can find diplomatic offramps to find ways to de-escalate,” he stated. “We favor a diplomatic solution. We know that there is no military solution.”

Moreover, Lenderking highlighted the role played by Saudi Arabia in building trust and bridging the divide between Yemen’s legitimate government and the Houthis.

This “gives us some hope that we can use this moment to get beyond current tensions and refocus on what the Yemeni people need, which is an end to this nine-year civil war,” remarked the envoy.

“I do think that ultimately diplomatic solutions will have to be found, and again, that’s why the importance of consulting with regional partners who have such a strong stake in a peaceful outcome to this conflict – Oman, Saudi Arabia, and others,” he said. “We all want Yemen to be a source of stability for the region.”

Furthermore, he stressed that the US remains fully committed to supporting lasting peace in Yemen and the UN-backed peace process, and easing the humanitarian and economic crises.



Medical Charity Condemns Israel's Use of Hunger as 'Weapon of War' in Gaza

A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
TT
20

Medical Charity Condemns Israel's Use of Hunger as 'Weapon of War' in Gaza

A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

A months-long Israeli blockade is worsening acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, medical charity Medecins du Monde warned on Tuesday, accusing Israel of using hunger as "a weapon of war".

Israel halted all aid from entering the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on March 2, days before resuming its offensive triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The United Nations and aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe for the roughly 2.4 million people in Gaza, amid dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water.

Aid reaches Gaza mainly through Israeli-controlled entry points, though the flow has fluctuated -- even before the March shutdown.

After more than a year and a half of war, acute malnutrition in Gaza has "reached levels comparable to those seen in countries facing prolonged humanitarian crises spanning several decades," AFP quoted Medecins du Monde as saying.

MDM said data from six health centers it runs in the Palestinian territory highlighted "the human responsibility for hunger in Gaza".

"Acute malnutrition rates among pregnant and breastfeeding women and children depend on the Israeli authorities' decisions to allow or block humanitarian aid," it said.

The medical charity said the peaks in acute malnutrition it observed in 2024 "coincided with the sharpest decline in the monthly number of trucks delivering aid to Gaza".

MDM said it saw a peak in child acute malnutrition of 17 percent in November, during a significant reduction of humanitarian aid.

Aid access is limited to Israeli-controlled crossings, with the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt closed since the Israeli army took control of the city in spring 2024.

Israeli authorities have closed the crossing points since March 2, saying they want to force Hamas to release hostages.

The security cabinet in early May approved the "possibility of humanitarian distribution, if necessary" in Gaza, but insisted there was "currently enough food".

The UN's World Food Program in late April said it had depleted all its food stocks in the territory.

"We are not witnessing a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of humanity and moral bankruptcy with the use of hunger as a weapon of war," said Jean-Francois Corty, president of MDM.

"The failure of other countries with the power to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift this deadly siege is unacceptable and could be seen as complicity under international law," he added.

In April, one in five pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly one in four children MDM observed were suffering or were at high risk of acute malnutrition, the charity said.

The MDM report also detailed the domino effect of dwindling food reserves, as well as the destruction of agricultural facilities and sanitation systems, on the malnutrition crisis.

The organization said it could not officially declare famine underway due to a lack of comprehensive data covering the entire Palestinian territory.

The UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned Monday that Gaza was at "critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian "catastrophe".