In light of the ongoing peace discussions between Riyadh and the Houthi group in Yemen, US officials revealed that the Biden administration is willing to relax some limits on arms shipments to Saudi Arabia. President Joe Biden issued the prohibition two years ago in response to worries that US munitions were being used against civilians in Yemen, which is currently undergoing a disastrous war. We examine the Yemen war, Saudi involvement in it, and the United States’ weapons embargo against the Saudis.
The current Yemeni state, founded in 1990, has been beset by religious and cultural divisions between its northern and southern half. Ali Abdullah Saleh, a military officer who had controlled North Yemen since 1978, was deposed in 2012 as a result of increasing domestic and international pressure. His vice president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, took over as interim president and served for two years before being forced to retire as well.
After fleeing Sana’a in early 2015, Hadi revoked his resignation and began to lead a government in exile based in Saudi Arabia
Hadi’s resignation occurred in the same year that Houthi insurgents took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sana’a, demanding a new government. The Houthis, a Shiite rebel organization with ties to Iran, have been present in Yemen since the 1990s, but finally took control in 2015 after taking the presidential palace and forcing Hadi and his cabinet to quit. After fleeing Sana’a in early 2015, Hadi revoked his resignation and began to lead a government in exile based in Saudi Arabia. Although the international community recognizes the government in exile, the majority of Yemenis live in Houthi-controlled territories. The Houthis dominate the Red Sea coastline as well as Sana’a and the north of Yemen.
According to commentators, the seven-year battle has devolved into a proxy war between a multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels backed by Iran. Saudi Arabia created a coalition of Sunni-majority Arab countries in 2015, at Hadi’s request, including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pakistani and Eritrean troops were recruited to the coalition in 2018. They carried out airstrikes against the Houthis to reestablish Hadi’s regime.
Groups like Amnesty International have accused both sides of grave human rights abuses
For Saudi Arabia, the conflict in Yemen creates a security issue near the country’s southern border, which is exacerbated by Iran’s involvement. Iran is said to be the most active state supporter of the Houthi rebels, and Saudi Arabia has long argued that the Houthis are an Iranian proxy movement, not a legitimate indigenous party. While groups like Amnesty International have accused both sides of grave human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia, in particular, has been criticised for its involvement in the conflict. According to a report submitted to the United Nations in July, “Saudi Arabia has not only failed to deliver accountability through either its national courts or the military coalition it launched, but it has actively worked to thwart international efforts to pursue accountability for abuses in Yemen.”
The report, written by Columbia University researchers, details a slew of war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia, including assaults on migrants, widespread prisoner abuse, denial of humanitarian aid, the use of famine as a weapon, and bombings that killed civilians with no discernible military target nearby. Following an airstrike on a funeral hall in Yemen that killed 155 people, former US President Barack Obama initially prohibited the sale of US precision-guided military hardware to Saudi Arabia in 2016. However, the Trump administration overturned the prohibition in 2017.
Biden administration believes the Saudis have followed a two-year-old agreement established by the US and the UN to prevent casualties in Yemen
In the early days of his presidency, Biden, who previously called Saudi Arabia a pariah state, reinstated many of the Obama-era prohibitions. According to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, the opposing parties have agreed to a truce and a UN-led peace process. In a statement, Grundberg’s office said that it “welcomes the parties’ commitment to a set of measures to implement a nationwide ceasefire, improve living conditions in Yemen, and engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process.”
According to CNN, the Biden administration believes the Saudis have followed a two-year-old agreement established by the US and the UN to prevent casualties in Yemen. Furthermore, since his visit to Riyadh in 2022, Biden has dramatically softened his initial tough position against the Saudis. More recently, in the context of Israel’s continuous assault on Gaza, the Houthis have carried out a series of drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea against Israel-linked merchant ships, while also directly targeting Israel.
On December 9, a Houthi official threatened that if Gaza did not get humanitarian aid, the group would continue to attack all ships going for Israeli ports, regardless of nationality. In this context, Saudi Arabia remains an important player in the Middle East, especially in combating Houthi actions against Israel, one of the United States’ closest allies.