The Hutis rebels, who control much of Yemeni territory, as well as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, have committed themselves that they will not attack European ships, today reported the Financial Times (FT).
© Lusa
25/09/2026
by
Lusa
Sthe Hutis sent a letter with this commitment on 10 September to the European Union External Action Service.
On the same day, the Allied rebel group of Iran had taken control of the port of Moka and its strategic location near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Hutis made a promise similar to the United States, confirmed by the US President, who has refused to intervene militarily against the rebels.
“ They don't want to fight us. They're allowing most ships to pass. There is only one country with which they are not satisfied, and we will resolve this,” said Donald Trump, alluding to Saudi Arabia, which militarily supports the internationally recognized Government of Yemen.
Commercial traffic through the Red Sea, severely restricted in the last decade by the long civil war in Yemen, has been recovering in the last three years and even more since Iran began the blockade in the Strait of Ormuz, where 20% of world hydrocarbons passed before the Israeli-American offensive launched on 28 February against the Islamic Republic.
From the Red Sea, cargo ships have the option to enter and exit via the Suez Canal or Bab el-Mandeb.
A spokesman for Maersk, one of the leading shipping companies, confirmed to the Financial Times that there were no container attacks on the Red Sea for a year despite increased traffic.
The Hutis have claimed that their recent military advances in Yemen do not seek to achieve commercial navigation, except for Saudi Arabia's ships, the world's largest exporter of crude oil, which have been subject to a blockade of the rebels since July.
The Yemeni group has reported repeated bombings of Riyadh forces, while claiming retaliation attacks against Saudi military and energy targets.
Today, the UN Security Council has supported Saudi Arabia's right of defence against the Hutis attacks and condemned the rebel offensive in Yemen, which has already provoked tens of thousands of displaced people, and threats to freedom of navigation.
The position of the Security Council appears on the same day that Pakistan confirmed that it is organising an urgent meeting with the military leaders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia to activate the recently closed mutual defence agreement by the three countries.
After years of relative calm in Yemen, the fragile truce agreed in 2022 collapsed in July, when the Hutis challenged Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace, allowing a plane with Iranian representatives to land in Yemen.
The Hutis are part of the so-called axis of resistance, formed by political and armed groups supported by Iran, alongside Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Iraq.
Between 2023 and 2025, they attacked commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea as a form of support for Hamas in the war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.