"Systematic Terrorism"... Yemeni Government: Houthi Attack on "Sunion" is Ninth of Its Kind Targeting Oil Tankers and Chemical Products

The Yemeni government said that the Houthi attack on the oil tanker (Sunion) is systematic terrorism, and is the ninth of its kind targeting chemical and oil tankers since last November, which confirms the Iranian-backed militia’s indifference to the catastrophic repercussions on Yemen and the region in the event of any leakage of those products.

This came in a statement by the Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, published on the X platform, in which he condemned the Houthi attack on the ill-fated tanker, and called on the international community to reconsider dealing with the Houthi militia and ways to confront its terrorist activities.

Al-Eryani said, "The targeting of the Greek oil tanker ( MT DELTA SOUNION ) by the terrorist Houthi militia affiliated with Iran, which was carrying 150 thousand tons of crude oil, with a series of attacks, which led to it running aground, its engines failing, the evacuation of its crew, and leaving it vulnerable to sinking or exploding 85 nautical miles from Al-Hodeidah Governorate, in the ninth attack on chemical and oil tankers since last November, under the pretext of supporting Gaza, is systematic terrorism that threatens an unprecedented environmental, economic and humanitarian disaster."

He added, "The Houthi militia's repeated targeting of oil and chemical product tankers reflects its indifference to the catastrophic repercussions of any oil spill in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden on the economic, agricultural, and fisheries sectors in our country, the coastal strip of Yemen and the coastal countries, the marine environment, and the biodiversity of the islands located in the region."

Al-Eryani continued, "Any oil spill in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden threatens Yemeni fishing stocks, will affect millions of Yemenis in coastal cities with toxic gases, will stop the work of Yemeni ports, will pollute Red Sea desalination plants and cut off their supplies, and Yemen will lose fisheries that provide a livelihood for 1.7 million Yemeni citizens, and will destroy the biodiversity and ecosystem in the region."

The Yemeni minister pointed out that this dangerous escalation reveals the nature of the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization that acts as a docile tool to implement the Iranian agenda, without regard to the political, economic and humanitarian conditions in Yemen. It also reveals the failure of international engagement with the serious threats posed by the militia as an Iranian arm to the security and safety of maritime navigation and the free flow of global trade, and the need to reconsider ways to confront its terrorist activities.

Al-Eryani called on the international community to quickly classify the Houthi militia as a "global terrorist organization", impose sanctions on it by freezing its assets, banning the travel of its leaders, enhancing legal coordination between countries to pursue its members, and individuals and organizations that provide financial or logistical support to it, enhancing international cooperation in exchanging intelligence information and combating financing and recruitment, and activating international resolutions on preventing the sale or supply of weapons and dual-use materials.

On Wednesday, the Houthi militia targeted the tanker "Sunion" with a series of attacks, which led to it catching fire and running aground in the Red Sea off the coast of Hodeidah, western Yemen.