Yemen Monitor / Sana’a / Special:
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi group’s Supreme Political Council, warned Saudi Arabia on Wednesday against continuing what he called “procrastination in implementing the requirements of the roadmap,” hinting at ending the state of “no war, no peace” in reference to the truce.
In a new political speech (followed by Yemen Monitor), al-Mashat explained that the group’s preoccupation with regional events would not prevent it from “wresting” the rights of the Yemeni people — as he put it — foremost among them the payment of salaries and the lifting of the siege by whatever means it deems appropriate.
Al-Mashat accused Riyadh of “procrastinating in implementing these requirements,” claiming that the Kingdom is “shirking its commitments and insisting on maintaining the siege and economic sanctions,” and that the Saudi side is betting on the passage of time and the group’s engagement in confrontation with the Israeli entity and the United States to “evade” implementing the terms of the truce.
In the context of the stalled roadmap, al-Mashat called on Riyadh to “truly respond to the requirements of peace (in action, not words), and to proceed with implementing the agreements, namely stopping the aggression, lifting the siege, withdrawing foreign forces, and addressing the files of prisoners, compensation, and reconstruction.” He stressed that the group’s patience “will not be without end.”
Al-Mashat repeated: “We will wrest all rights, fully and completely, and we will restore Yemen’s leading position.”
On the regional front, al-Mashat declared his group’s full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, supporting what he called its “right to self-defense” against American and Israeli attacks.
This comes at a time when the Wall Street Journal reported that the Kingdom is making diplomatic efforts to prevent the Houthis from joining the battle in support of Iran.
Yemen was plunged into war when the Houthis seized the capital Sana’a in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened on behalf of the internationally recognized government on March 26, 2026, to confront the Iran-backed Houthi group. The Houthis responded by firing missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia and later the UAE until a truce was reached in April 2022 for several months. That truce continued without official renewal despite its fragility and ongoing violations on the front lines.
In September 2023, an agreement was reportedly reached on a roadmap — believed to have been initialed — between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. However, the Houthis’ launch of attacks through the Red Sea the following month, which they said was in support of the Palestinians, complicated UN efforts to implement the roadmap. At the start of last year, the U.S. fully designated the Houthi group as a terrorist organization, further complicating the roadmap.
