UK says aid must flow through Hodeidah – rebel arms must not

The British foreign secretary yesterday emphasised the need for full humanitarian and commercial access to Hodeidah to be opened up.

But Boris Johnson made clear that this access had to be balanced by security concerns that shipments of arms for the Houthi rebels were also being smuggled through the Yemeni port, which handles more than 80 per cent of the country’s food imports.

Reporting to the House of Commons on his three-day trip to the Middle East and Gulf, Mr Johnson said “to prevent further starvation and suffering, it is essential to get supplies flowing through Hodeidah, but to do that we must help to reassure the Saudis and others that the port is not being used to smuggle weaponry”.

He confirmed that he had made strong representations to the Iranian government about its support for the Yemeni rebels.

There had, he said, been “some pretty feisty exchanges” in his discussions with the country’s vice-president Ali Akbar Salehi, especially with regard to attacks against Saudi Arabia.

“If we are to resolve the conflict in Yemen, Houthi rebels must stop firing missiles at Saudi Arabia,” Mr Johnson told MPs. “The house will recall that King Khalid International airport in Riyadh – Saudi Arabia’s equivalent of Heathrow – was the target of a ballistic missile launched from Yemen on November 4.

“I pressed my Iranian counterparts to use their influence to ensure that these indiscriminate and dangerous attacks come to an end.”

Despite his frank words with the Iranians – Mr Johnson also met president Hassan Rouhani and the foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif – he emphasised Britain’s support for the nuclear deal negotiated with six powers and signed in 2015.

He said that “the UK attaches the utmost importance to preserving this agreement” and that the West “must keep their side of the bargain by helping the Iranian people to enjoy the economic benefits of re-engagement with the world”.

The foreign secretary also revealed that during his meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with leaders of the UAE, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel Al Jubeir, and colleagues from the United States, there had been agreement “on the need to revive the political process [in Yemen]”.

“Bearing in mind that the killing of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, by the Houthis may cause the conflict to become even more fragmented.”

Mr Johnson said that the meeting had also “discussed how best to address the missile threat from Yemen, welcoming the United Nations investigation into the origin of the weapons launched”.

If we are to resolve the conflict, Houthi rebels must stop firing missiles at Saudi Arabia