On Thursday, October 3, 2024, Aidarus Al-Zubaidi, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council and head of the Southern Transitional Council, spoke about his council's ongoing "struggle" to separate southern Yemen from the north, affirming that this goal is unwavering despite the challenges ahead.

In a speech delivered at an event held by the Southern community in Chicago, Al-Zubaidi stated, "Our patience is not weakness or a retreat from our goals and objectives. We have chosen to give patience its due, to prove to the world that we are advocates of peace and aspire for peace."

He added, "Our options are open to achieve this, and the world must know that there will be no peace or stability in our region without the return of our independent southern state, fully sovereign over its borders as they were before 1990."

Regarding the war with the Houthi movement, he remarked, "The Houthis have escalated their terrorism amid a lax international stance that has encouraged them to expand the conflict." He noted that "since the removal of their designation as a first-degree terrorist group, they have engaged in a new and dangerous escalation every day, working—with Iranian support—to drag the region into a wide-ranging conflict that affects its stability and the future of its peoples."

Al-Zubaidi emphasized the need for "deterrent strategic policies and serious measures, with the United States and its allies present alongside our regional partners represented by the leadership of the Arab Coalition, as was the case in 2020 and before."

On September 21, Al-Zubaidi arrived in New York with the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, and council member Othman Majli to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

While Rashad Al-Alimi and Othman Majli left New York on the 28th of the same month, Al-Zubaidi continued to hold meetings with southern community members in the United States, rallying support for his project advocating for the division of Yemen into north and south.