G7 Tells Iran to Stop Arming the Houthis as the Battle for Kahboub Rages
The G7’s foreign ministers condemned the Houthi campaign “in the strongest terms” overnight, demanding Iran end its arming of the group and calling Yemen’s escalation an “unacceptable threat” that “jeopardises global energy security”. On the ground the highlands battle rages — the Houthis claiming 157 Saudi air attacks in a day, their leader taunting that America and Israel are “somewhat preoccupied, creating a problem for the Saudi regime”. American military leaders are reported split on intervening after Sunday’s called-off strikes.
A G7 statement is what allies issue when they cannot agree on action: the words are maximal, the commitments absent, and the gap between “strongest terms” and Sunday’s unloaded bombs is where Riyadh now lives — reading in Washington’s split councils that the divided party is the White House itself, with military leaders reportedly at odds and the president’s finger hovering over and off the trigger within hours. Abdel-Malik al-Houthi’s taunt is strategically literate: the group has correctly priced American preoccupation with Iran proper, and its Marib oil-field push tests whether anything short of American ships burning triggers the superpower. Britain’s new refuelling role makes this ledger a domestic one too. Watch the Gulf leaders’ session with Mr Trump today — the request will be strikes, and the answer will move oil either way.