Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven have called on Iran to “end its arming of and support” for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, placing the conflict and its risks to Red Sea shipping at the centre of their discussions in New York.
The joint statement followed an informal meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The G7, comprising the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, said the recent escalation against Saudi-backed pro-government forces in Yemen threatened regional and global energy security.
The ministers condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia “in the strongest terms”. They said: “We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith”.
They described the group’s conduct as “a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability”. The ministers also said Tehran was violating past UN Security Council resolutions, without identifying the resolutions in the statement.
The appeal comes after the Houthis seized territory near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the entrance to a key global shipping route. The group’s advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast have prompted thousands of refugees to flee Yemen in recent days, while the UN estimates that more than 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden increase in fighting.
A UN-brokered ceasefire between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government had been in place since 2022. It remains unclear whether that arrangement has formally collapsed or been abandoned amid the latest violence.
The Houthis have launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh. The rebels claimed responsibility for a September 19 attack on Riyadh Airport. Saudi Arabia has responded with hundreds of air strikes in the region.
Iran has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis, saying its support is political. Smuggled Iranian weapons have nevertheless been seized from shipments bound for Yemen, and a report by UN experts in 2024 documented extensive military ties between the Houthis, Iran and Iran’s other allies. The precise nature and scale of any current Iranian weapons supplies to the Houthis remain unknown.
The statement was issued ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to speak. Its timing gives the G7’s concerns a prominent diplomatic setting, while leaving open how Iran will respond.
The UK has separately agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia. Under the agreement, Britain’s Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refuelling for Saudi aircraft. The mission is likely to begin within days and could last for “weeks”. The brief does not establish whether other G7 members will make similar military commitments.
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