Iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN General Assembly

Watch: Why is the Bab al-Mandab Strait so important?

Iran must "end its arming of and support" for the Houthis in Yemen, the foreign ministers of G7 nations have said in a joint statement.

The G7 also condemned "in the strongest terms" Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, adding that the recent escalation in fighting against Saudi-backed pro-government forces in Yemen represented a threat to regional and global energy security.

Thousands of refugees have fled Yemen in recent days after the Iran-backed group seized territory along the country's Red Sea coastline, including near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to a key global shipping route.

Iran has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and says it only supports them politically.

The G7 statement comes ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to speak.

"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith," said the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

It went on: "Their reprehensible actions constitute a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability."

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