Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said Saturday that Yemen is not an "Iranian bargaining chip" or an arena for settling regional scores, describing the country's partnership with Saudi Arabia as "firm."
Her remarks came in an interview published by Yemen's official Saba news agency as government forces and Iran-backed Houthis continued fighting on several fronts in the country.
"Restoring Yemeni state institutions is a pillar of Yemen's security, regional stability and the safety of maritime routes, and the government is dealing with the repercussions of recent developments responsibly and with commitment," said al-Zouba.
She said the government does not underestimate the difficulty of recent developments or the suffering of Yemenis, adding that its responsibility is to address shortcomings, strengthen state institutions, protect civilians and assist those affected.
Al-Zouba said the political leadership is pursuing an "integrated deterrence" approach that does not limit the response to the military front.
The approach includes protecting civilians, addressing weaknesses, restoring capabilities, using diplomacy while maintaining state institutions and services, and expanding the humanitarian response, she added.
Addressing navigation in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, al-Zouba said the threat goes beyond disrupting shipping to "an attempt to impose the conditions of an armed group."
"Military control of a location does not create a right to control navigation," she said. "Yemeni sovereignty over its territory and islands does not change by force, and the passage of a vessel under threat does not mean freedom of navigation is secure."
Al-Zouba said sustainable stability requires empowering the state along its coasts, ports and islands, and expanding cooperation with littoral states and partners in maritime intelligence sharing, port security, training and equipping coast guard forces, and combating smuggling and organized crime.
On relations with Riyadh, al-Zouba praised Saudi Arabia for standing "alongside the Yemeni people and their legitimate leadership and for the support and sacrifices it has made."
"The partnership with the Kingdom is firm, and Saudi Arabia's role in supporting the Yemeni state represents an important pillar for Yemen's security and regional stability," she said. "Saudi security is strengthened by the existence of a safe and stable Yemen."
Al-Zouba described Egypt as a key Arab partner and said coordination with Cairo on Yemen, Red Sea security and bilateral relations is continuing.
She said the core of Yemen's crisis is "the militias' coup against the state and their imposition of authority by force," describing the conflict as one between the national state project and the Houthi "non-state project" that seeks to turn Yemen into a platform for threatening the region and international interests.
Internationally, she welcomed Russia's affirmation at the UN Security Council of support for freedom of navigation, opposition to attacks on commercial vessels and its urging of the Houthis to respect the sovereignty of neighboring states.
She also reaffirmed Yemen's interest in developing its longstanding relations and dialogue with Moscow in the political, economic and development fields.
Turning to regional developments, al-Zouba reiterated the Yemeni government's rejection and condemnation of Iranian support that it said strengthens Houthi military capabilities and uses Yemen's geography to threaten neighboring countries and maritime routes.
"Yemen is not compensation for anyone's loss in another arena, nor an arena for settling scores, nor a bargaining chip for any regional power to improve the terms of regional negotiations," she said.
Her comments came amid rapidly escalating fighting on several Yemeni fronts.
The army said Saturday that 13 soldiers were killed in the previous two days in fighting with the Houthis in Taiz and Lahj.
A government official also reported that a senior Houthi commander and six of his escorts were killed on the Kahboub front near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Renewed clashes are taking place in Taiz, Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda and Lahj as part of a military escalation that began in early July-the most intense since the relative calm following the April 2022 truce.
Fighting accelerated in September, with the Houthis seizing several key locations in Al Hudaydah and Taiz, including the strategic city of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the national capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in September 2014. That prompted a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
