US embassy refutes Houthis’ Yemen blockade claims, highlights siege on Taiz

The US Embassy in Yemen has pushed back against Houthi claims that a Saudi-led blockade is restricting access to the country. Khaled Wolfsberg, spokesperson for the US Embassy in Yemen, released an Arabic-language video on the mission’s official Instagram account on Tuesday evening, arguing that goods are still flowing into areas of Yemen under Houthi control. The Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), captured the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.

They have since seized large parts of western and northern Yemen. An offensive on coastal areas in September this year saw the rebel group take the port city of Mocha . Wolfsberg presented operational figures showing that 272 commercial ships successfully unloaded their cargo at the ports of Hodeidah, as-Salif, and Ras Isa – all under Houthi control – between January and September 2026.

This data directly counters the Houthi narrative that Saudi Arabia and its allies have enacted a full-scale siege of Yemen’s Red Sea ports, preventing aid from reaching civilians.