Rashad Alimi, the President of the Presidential Leadership Council, asserted on Thursday, September 26, 2024, that the path to regional peace starts with supporting national member states of the United Nations and moderate forces in the region, led by Saudi Arabia. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive deterrence strategy against the Houthis, who are classified internationally as a terrorist organization.

In his address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Alimi stated, “The path to peace must pass through supporting the efforts of moderate forces in the region, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which, along with our brothers in the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, has taken on the responsibility of defending international resolutions and has opened its doors to millions fleeing conflict and armed disputes.”

According to the official Yemeni news agency Saba, Alimi called for a collective international approach to support the Yemeni government and enhance its institutional capacities to protect its territorial waters and secure its national territory.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to a comprehensive and just peace based on national, regional, and international references, stressing the necessity of strengthening the government’s position to counter any alternative options in light of the Houthis' ongoing escalation on both local and regional fronts.

Alimi warned that continued global leniency towards these “militias” poses an even greater threat to international peace and security.

To prevent further escalation, he highlighted the urgent need for a collective approach to support the Yemeni government and strengthen its institutional capacities to safeguard its territorial waters and national land.

He stated that without addressing these needs and enforcing relevant international legitimacy decisions to halt the flow of Iranian weapons and cut off funding sources, the Houthis would not engage in any efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace and would persist in their tactics of extortion against both regional and international communities.

Alimi pointed out that despite the ceasefire agreed upon by the government in April 2022, the militias continued their military violations and serious human rights abuses, as well as breaches of national and international laws.

He outlined the chronic economic challenges exacerbated by Houthi terrorist attacks on oil facilities, noting that their economic warfare is part of a broader hostile strategy aimed at undermining the government’s ability to provide basic services and pay public sector salaries, thereby worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting over 14 million Yemenis.

Alimi stressed that “the recovery of Yemen is not just a national issue but a regional and global necessity, as its stability is crucial for maintaining peace, regional security, and trade routes in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and surrounding waterways, including the Suez Canal.”

On a national level, he reiterated that the brutal Israeli war against the Palestinian people must stop immediately, as this is key to achieving the desired peace and removing the pretexts used by Iran and its proxies to exacerbate tensions in the region.

He emphasized that the path to ending the suffering of the Palestinian people must be based on implementing international legitimacy decisions and relevant references, particularly the Arab Peace Initiative.

“Just as with the Yemeni and Palestinian situations, the only way to deter the brutal Israeli aggression against Lebanon is through a firm stance from the international community and the unity of the Lebanese people themselves, allowing them to make independent decisions without interference in their internal affairs.”

Alimi has been in New York since Sunday, September 21, accompanied by council members Aidarus al-Zubaidi and Othman Majali, to participate in the high-level Future Summit sponsored by the United Nations and the ongoing meetings of the General Assembly that began on Tuesday, September 24.