The Yemeni government warned of the expanding threat posed by the Houthi militias to regional security and international navigation, in light of Iran's escalating interference in managing its military operations, and its growing links with terrorist organizations in the Horn of Africa, in conjunction with its continued attacks on civilians and the tightening of the siege on the city of Taiz.
The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Afrah Al-Zouba, presented these concerns during a series of meetings she held in Berlin with German officials and experts in studies and research centers concerned with Yemeni affairs, which dealt with developments in the Houthi escalation since last June, and its military, humanitarian and security repercussions on Yemen and the region.
Al-Zuba said that the group intensified its attacks after a plane belonging to the Iranian “Mahan” company linked to the “Revolutionary Guard” landed at Hodeidah Airport, explaining, according to the government’s account, that the plane was carrying Iranian experts and carrying money and specific weapons to support Houthi military operations, in violation of Yemeni sovereignty and international laws and resolutions.
She indicated that the escalation extended to the areas of the West Coast and Bab al-Mandab, before government forces moved to those areas within the framework of Operation “Yemen Dawn,” warning of the group’s efforts to expand again on the West Coast and threaten freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and to use sea lanes as a means of putting pressure on the international community.
In her discussions with German Foreign Minister Johann David Vadifol, the Yemeni minister warned that the Houthi threat goes beyond the borders of Yemen, pointing to the group's targeting of Saudi territory and international shipping lines, and the resulting risks to regional security and global energy and food supplies.
It also presented what the Yemeni government announced regarding the participation of experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah in managing Houthi operations, in addition to the group’s links to terrorist organizations in the Horn of Africa, most notably the Somali “Al-Shabaab Movement.” These links usually raise the level of threat to maritime security and regional stability.
The two sides discussed ways to develop the capabilities of the Yemeni Coast Guard to protect territorial waters, secure international trade routes, and enhance bilateral consultation and exchange of information regarding security developments in Yemen and the region.
Al-Zuba handed the German Foreign Minister a written message from the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, addressed to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which dealt with bilateral relations, regional issues, and developments in the Yemeni situation.
In the humanitarian file, the Minister highlighted the Houthi siege imposed on the city of Taiz, the targeting of civilian and health facilities, and the resulting closure of medical facilities, interruption of medicine supplies, and the absence of safe passages, warning of the catastrophic repercussions on the population, especially women, children, and the sick.
It also touched on the random recruitment of children and the planting of mines, and the continued detention of dozens of United Nations employees and humanitarian workers, noting that a number of them died during detention. The last of them was the UN employee, Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Shami.
In another meeting with the Undersecretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Niels Annen, Al-Zuba called for strengthening German support for the humanitarian response, in light of the worsening needs of the population as a result of the escalation, siege, and Houthi violations.
Yemeni official media reported that the German official expressed his country's concern about the humanitarian conditions in Taiz and other areas, stressing Germany's commitment to studying ways to enhance support for relief and humanitarian response efforts.
Vadivhol also renewed his country's support for the Yemeni government and the efforts of the United Nations, expressing his concern about the continuation of Houthi attacks, and stressing the need to stop the attacks on Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
In her meetings with experts from German studies and research centers, Al-Zuba stressed the importance of conveying an accurate picture of the developments in the situation in Yemen and conveying the voice of the Yemenis to official and popular circles in Germany, while the experts stressed the need to give the Yemeni file more attention and transfer the priorities of the population to decision-making circles in Germany and Europe.
In the context of the discussions, Berlin announced the provision of an additional 10 million euros to support the humanitarian response in Yemen, bringing its total contributions during the current year to 38 million euros.
In parallel with the escalation of the Houthi aggression, recent international data revealed an unprecedented deterioration in food security in Yemen, with about 74 percent of families unable to meet their basic food needs by mid-September, and the percentage of families facing severe food deprivation rising to 41 percent, the highest levels ever recorded.
This deterioration coincides with the widening repercussions of the Iranian-backed group’s military escalation, the tightening of the siege on the city of Taiz, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents in Taiz and Lahj, in addition to rising costs of living and declining purchasing power, at a time when humanitarian aid is shrinking due to the decline in international funding.
It is estimated that more than half of Yemen's population was at risk of facing crisis levels or worse of food insecurity, according to the Integrated Interim Classification of Food Security, amid expectations of continued deterioration in the coming months, due to the intersection of conflict and displacement, high food and fuel prices, and disruption of maritime traffic.
Indicators reveal that the problem is no longer related to the availability of food in accessible markets, but rather to the inability of families to purchase it, with their incomes eroding and prices rising. These conditions push more families to reduce meals and their quantities, go into debt, and give up basic needs to provide food.
According to the risk management team of the Food Security Monitoring Initiative in Yemen, the cost of the basic food basket rose by about 7 percent on a monthly basis in Houthi-controlled areas, reaching about $91, the highest level over the past year, exceeding its cost in areas under the control of the Yemeni government.
In Yemeni government areas, the cost of the food basket rose by about 2 percent, continuing its upward trajectory since the outbreak of the regional escalation, becoming about 7 percent higher than its levels a year ago.
Some commodities recorded sharper increases; The price of cooking oil increased by 35 percent on an annual basis in government areas, while the price of wheat flour increased by about 15 percent in the city of Taiz since the start of the escalation.
The sources of threat do not stop at the repercussions of war and trade disturbances, as the El Niño phenomenon highlights an additional factor that may increase the fragility of food security, through its potential effects on international import markets and local agricultural production.
The Famine Early Warning Network indicates that Yemen is one of the countries most vulnerable to the indirect effects of this phenomenon through import markets.
These risks gain importance given that Australia provided more than a third of Yemen’s wheat imports during the period 2024-2025, while the local wheat crop is expected to decline during the 2026-2027 season by a rate ranging between 14 and 17 percent.
Wheat represents a major component of the daily food of Yemenis, which makes the decline in its production or the rise in prices a direct threat to poor families, who depend on it to secure their needs in light of limited income and weak ability to confront price shocks.
The risk management team recommended activating the preparedness plan to confront food security crises, strengthening the humanitarian response and directing interventions to the most affected regions and groups, while giving priority to supporting purchasing power, ensuring the flow of basic goods, and expanding food aid and livelihood programs.
The Palestinian issue dominated the activities of the 56th session of the meetings of the Council of Arab Information Ministers, which was held in Cairo on Wednesday.
The Council called for providing protection to Palestinian journalists, and “intensifying international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the crimes committed” against them, at a time when the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Nabil Fahmy, warned of the challenges facing the Arab media, especially with the growing use of artificial intelligence techniques and the spread of misleading information.
The Council stressed “the need to take practical measures to protect Palestinian journalists and support Palestinian media institutions, enabling them to continue their work and convey the reality of the situation in the Palestinian territories.” He pointed out that more than 260 male and female journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, expressing his “concern about the killing, injuries and arrests that Palestinian media workers are exposed to.”
He called for “intensifying Arab and international efforts to document Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists, strengthen solidarity campaigns with them, and exert pressure to ensure accountability,” warning that “the continuation of these violations threatens freedom of the press and encourages their perpetrators to continue them.”
The Council stressed the importance of “coordinating Arab media action to support the Palestinian cause in international forums, confronting campaigns of misinformation and falsification of facts, and enhancing the presence of the Palestinian narrative in international public opinion, through developing a professional and convincing media discourse.”
He reaffirmed “the centrality of the Palestinian issue, and his support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
For his part, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States stressed that the Arab media “faces increasing challenges in light of the escalation of regional and international conflicts and tensions,” stressing that developing Arab media work “has become a necessity to confront these challenges, in light of its role in shaping awareness and influencing public opinion and decision makers.”
In his speech during the opening session, Fahmy called for “intensifying media support for the Palestinian cause through a concrete, consistent and continuous Arab effort,” which would contribute to mobilizing international support for Palestinian rights. He also called for “adopting a media discourse that interacts with the priorities of development and national construction, confronts terrorism and misinformation, and spreads the values of tolerance and moderation.”
Regarding technological transformations, Fahmy warned of “the challenges associated with the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence in the media industry, most notably deep fakes, privacy, intellectual property, and information transparency,” stressing the necessity of “establishing controls for the responsible use of these technologies, in a way that enhances digital sovereignty and the competitiveness of Arab media.”
He stressed the importance of including media and information education in educational curricula, “to prepare generations capable of distinguishing between reliable and misleading information, and understanding the sources of media content and evaluating it critically.”
The Secretary-General also called for strengthening the partnership between the Arab League and media institutions, “to highlight joint Arab action efforts in the economic, social and development fields, and not limit media coverage to political issues.”
The opening session, with the participation of Arab information ministers and officials, witnessed the honoring of a number of media figures and institutions.
