Yemeni Government Calls on Immediate UN Intervention for Derelict Oil Tanker

Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
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Yemeni Government Calls on Immediate UN Intervention for Derelict Oil Tanker

Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
Safer oil tanker, Getty Images

Yemen’s government has urged the UN Security Council to intervene to prevent a rundown oil tanker, Safer, from leaking more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea.

Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami called on the UNSC to hold a special session following the Iran-backed Houthi militia’s refusal to allow UN experts to conduct their five-year maintenance on the ship.

Al-Hadhrami, in a letter, urged the Council to undertake its responsibilities to avoid an environmental catastrophe.

An oil leak from the Safer’s tanks would be “one of the biggest environmental disasters in the region and the world,” he told Christoph Heusgen, Germany’s Permanent Representative to the UN and President of UNSC.

The Houthis have rejected all independent international requests to board the vessel, including the latest one from UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths, who demanded access for an international technical team.

Al-Hadhrami, in his letter, briefed the UNSC about all government and international efforts, including the government approving a separate proposal to resolve the Safer oil tanker crisis presented recently by Griffiths.

Houthis have rejected the proposal.

Al-Hadhrami quoted previous government letters and statements to the UN which showcase the oil tanker’s deteriorating situation.

The tanker, which has been floating near the port city of Hodeidah since 1989 following an oil spill, is at risk of exploding and causing a massive environmental disaster.

Safer – often described by officials as a ticking time bomb – has not docked since 2014 and is currently in waters controlled by the Houthis.

The minister called on the Council to address the situation immediately and separate the issue from Yemen’s ongoing crisis.

An environmental catastrophe would pose a more immediate threat to Yemen and the region, he added.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.