'Yemen not Iranian bargaining chip', foreign minister says

'Yemen not Iranian bargaining chip', foreign minister says Yemen’s foreign minister, Afrah Alzouba, has said that Yemen is not “an Iranian bargaining chip” and that its future is “determined by Yemenis through their state and national path”. In a discussion with Russian news agency, Sputnik, Alzouba emphasized that restoring the state is a “pillar for regional security and the protection of international navigation”, according to statement posted on X by the country’s foreign ministry. The post said that during the discussion, Alzouba addressed the escalation by “the terrorist Houthi militia” in the western coast and Bab al-Mandab, its humanitarian repercussions, its implications for national and regional security, and international trade routes, as well as relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. وزيرة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين @afrah_alzouba تؤكد أن #اليمن ليس ورقة إيرانية للتفاوض، وأن مستقبله يقرره اليمنيون عبر دولتهم ومسارهم الوطني، مشدّدةً على أن استعادة الدولة ركيزةٌ لأمن المنطقة وحماية الملاحة الدولية، وذلك خلال حديثها مع وكالة @sputnik_ar الروسية، تناولت فيه تصعيد… pic.twitter.com/iAF9Rl6Xf9 — وزارة خارجية الجمهورية اليمنية (@yemen_mofa) September 18, 2026