NEW YORK Sept 14, 2026 – The United Nations Security Council is holding a briefing on the Middle East on Tuesday, September 15, amid growing alarm over Yemen’s Houthi rebels’ rapid territorial gains along the Red Sea coast and their expanding control near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The session follows a late-night report from BRICS News and other outlets that the Council would meet to address the situation as Houthi forces continue their advance. The strait, a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is one of the world’s most vital shipping chokepoints. A substantial share of global trade and energy shipments passes through it, a role that has grown even more critical amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the wider Iran-U.S. conflict.
Houthi forces, also known as Ansar Allah, seized the strategic port city of Mokha (Mocha) on September 10 after pushing government-aligned troops southward. They subsequently took Perim Island (also called Mayyun), which sits in the middle of the strait, and later the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands farther north in the Red Sea. These moves have given the Iran-backed group control over much of Yemen’s western coastline and a direct presence on the approaches to the waterway.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg warned the Council during an emergency session on September 10 that the country had entered “a new, more dangerous phase” of war. He noted that the capture of Mokha, roughly 75 kilometers from the strait, raised serious international concerns about freedom of navigation. Fighting has spread across multiple governorates, including Taiz, Hodeidah, Marib, al-Jawf, and al-Bayda, displacing tens of thousands of civilians.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government has accused the Houthis of attempting to impose a “new reality” in the Red Sea and urged the Council to enforce the existing UN arms embargo. Saudi Arabia, which has faced renewed Houthi missile and drone attacks on its southern cities and energy infrastructure, has called for a firm international stance to protect navigation and regional security. Ship traffic through the strait has already dropped sharply in recent days.
The latest meeting comes as the Houthis have also targeted Saudi-linked shipping and declared blockades, adding pressure to global oil markets already strained by events in the Persian Gulf. Analysts note that control of the islands and coastline gives the group greater ability to monitor and potentially interdict vessels.
The Security Council has held multiple sessions on Yemen this year, including previous emergency meetings in July and September. Outcomes have so far focused on calls for de-escalation, enforcement of existing resolutions, and support for a political process, though divisions among members persist.
The briefing is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in the Security Council Chamber in New York. Officials are expected to discuss both the immediate threat to maritime security and the risk that the Yemen conflict could further entangle the region.
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