UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg on Wednesday met with the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, amid international hopes for reaching an agreement to expand and stabilize the UN-sponsored truce in the war-torn nation.
Grundberg had visited Iran on September five to discuss expanding the fragile truce in Yemen after weeks of escalation by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
In Tehran, the UN diplomat had hoped to find a way to get Iran, a key backer of Houthi militias, to pressure the Yemeni group to accept his plans for expanding the truce.
Grundberg also tried to find a way to get Houthis to comply with their truce commitments, especially regarding lifting the siege they imposed on Taiz and stopping military escalation.
The UN envoy held talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other officials.
“Discussions focused on efforts to extend and expand the truce in Yemen as well as current regional dynamics,” his office said on Twitter.
Official sources said that Al-Alimi received Grundberg “to discuss developments in peace efforts and alleviating the human suffering caused by the Houthi militias in Yemen.”
Al-Alimi affirmed the commitment of the council and the government to reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the war-torn country according to the three key references, especially UN resolution 2216.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia continues to violate the ongoing truce and hinder peace efforts through their actions, Al-Alimi said that “the latest of which was preventing fuel ships from reaching the ports of Hodeidah and reviving the black market, without paying attention to the suffering of citizens.”
He said that the government is not preventing the arrival of these ships or other commercial shipments. He added that the government is keen to deny the Houthis any opportunity to blackmail the international community.
Al-Alimi expressed hope that the international community will put more pressure on the Houthis to seriously engage with “peace efforts and give priority to the interests of the Yemeni people over Iran’s expansionist interests.”
