INTERVIEW - Yemen’s foreign minister sets out 5 conditions for peace, calls for Houthi disarmament

By Mahmut Geldi, Zahir Sofuoğlu and Tarek Chouiref

ISTANBUL (AA) - Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba outlined five conditions for peace, saying the Houthis must surrender their weapons and join the political process.

Speaking to Anadolu during an official visit to Türkiye, al-Zouba said a settlement also requires rebuilding state institutions, ensuring the group can no longer carry out what she described as terrorism in Yemen or the region, and implementing agreed frameworks for peace.

Those frameworks include UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the outcomes of Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference and the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, she said.

Resolution 2216 calls on the Houthis to withdraw from areas they seized, including Sanaa, hand over weapons taken from military and security institutions, and facilitate humanitarian access.

- Peace talks used to rearm

Al-Zouba accused the Houthis of exploiting successive rounds of peace talks to build up their arsenal.

“We went through the peace process repeatedly, moving from one round of negotiations to another,” she said.

She argued that the government and international community had long pursued negotiations in the belief that a peaceful settlement was possible, but the Houthis had used those efforts to acquire weapons and expand their military capabilities.

She said she believed neighboring countries and international partners increasingly recognized that the group “was not a genuine partner for peace.”

The top diplomat said Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” launched by Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi on Oct. 5, aimed to end Houthi control, restore state authority and return Yemen’s sovereign decisions to the government.

Fighting has intensified in Yemen since July in the sharpest escalation since the relative calm brought by a UN-brokered truce in April 2022.

- Iranian support

Al-Zouba accused the Houthis of seeking to turn Yemen into a base for attacks on neighboring countries, citing their strikes on Saudi Arabia and threats to shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

She described the group as a threat to regional and international security and accused it of cooperating with armed groups in the Horn of Africa.

Iranian expertise had helped the Houthis develop their arsenal since seizing Sanaa in 2014, including the ability to manufacture some weapons components and assemble weapons inside Yemen, she said.

Al-Zouba also said she believed the group was beginning to develop the ability to train others, including Somalia’s al-Shabaab, to use certain equipment.

“The Houthis are using the power they have acquired through Yemen’s resources against Yemenis, neighboring countries and the world,” she said.

- Siege restricts supplies to Taiz

Al-Zouba said continued Houthi shelling and a partial siege were restricting access to essential supplies in southwestern Taiz province, home to roughly 4 million people.

Taiz has resisted years of Houthi attempts to bring it under their control, she said, but residents continued to face barriers to obtaining water, food, medicine and fuel.

The province has been a major front in the latest fighting. Government forces and their allies have announced gains near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and in Dhubab district, while Houthi advances in rural areas have tightened pressure on the city.

Taiz connects northern and southern Yemen and includes a strategically important stretch of Red Sea coastline, making it vital to transport and supply routes.

- Türkiye’s regional role

Al-Zouba praised Türkiye’s political and diplomatic initiatives, describing Ankara’s role in regional security as “pivotal and strategic.”

She said the two countries shared longstanding historic ties and welcomed Türkiye’s efforts to promote stability.

“We believe Türkiye has a pivotal and strategic role in maintaining the region’s security and stability,” she said.