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

What the report says

The US Embassy in Yemen has rejected Houthi assertions that a Saudi-led blockade is cutting off supplies to the country, saying commercial goods are still reaching areas under Houthi control. In an Arabic-language video posted on the embassy’s official Instagram account on Tuesday, embassy spokesperson Khaled Wolfsberg pointed to shipping data to argue that the ports of Hodeidah, as-Salif and Ras Isa continued receiving cargo in 2026.

According to the figures cited by the embassy and attributed in the report to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen, 272 commercial ships unloaded cargo at those ports between January and September. The article says the shipments included large amounts of food, as well as fuel and containerized goods, indicating that maritime trade has continued despite fighting and Houthi claims of a broader siege. Al Jazeera also noted that the UN mechanism regularly clears vessels to sail to Houthi-held ports.

The embassy used the same video to shift attention to Taiz, a government-held city that the Houthis have surrounded for years. Wolfsberg accused the group of blocking food and fuel from reaching hospitals and water stations there, describing the situation as a real siege. The report says the UN has also warned that recent fighting has worsened conditions in Taiz. The dispute matters because Yemen’s humanitarian crisis remains severe, and access to ports and inland supply routes is central to civilian relief efforts.