The United States Embassy in Yemen has dismissed Houthi claims that Yemen is under a blockade, calling them "just slogans" used to justify attacks on Yemen's internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia on Iran's orders.

Embassy spokesman Khaled Wolfsberg said the only blockade in Yemen was the one imposed by the Houthis themselves on the city of Taiz, which is held by the government and surrounded by Houthi forces. He made the remarks in a video statement released by the embassy on Tuesday, in which he cited shipping figures to challenge the Houthis' account.

According to Arab News, which reported the embassy's statement, Wolfsberg questioned the Houthi claim that Yemen was under a blockade by pointing to the volume of commercial shipping still reaching ports under Houthi control.

The shipping figures behind the dispute

Wolfsberg cited a figure of 272 commercial vessels that unloaded cargo at three ports under Houthi control during the first nine months of 2026. The ports are Hodeidah, as-Salif and Ras Isa on Yemen's Red Sea coast, and the cargo was mainly food, according to a second report on the embassy's statement by RocketNews.

The figures cited by the embassy match data from the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen, which monitors commercial shipping to the country. Monthly figures show 34 vessels reaching the three ports in each of January and March, and 25 in July, with more than 737,000 tonnes of food discharged in March alone and more than 495,000 tonnes in each of August and September.

The embassy's argument is that a country receiving hundreds of commercial vessels carrying food cannot fairly be described as blockaded, and that the Houthis are using the claim as a pretext for their own military campaign.

The siege of Taiz

Wolfsberg turned the accusation around, saying the real blockade in Yemen is the one the Houthis have imposed on Taiz, a government-held city that has been surrounded by Houthi forces for years. He accused the group of blocking food and fuel from reaching hospitals and water facilities in the city.

The United Nations has warned that recent fighting has worsened conditions in Taiz, where Houthi forces have maintained a month-long siege. The embassy's statement comes as fighting continues across several fronts in Yemen, including Taiz, al-Jawf and Marib, and as the Houthis press their campaign against Saudi Arabia.

Why the row matters now

The Houthis resumed their war with Saudi Arabia in July 2026, declaring a maritime blockade on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea and launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and the capital, Riyadh. They say their campaign is retaliation for what they describe as a Saudi blockade of Yemen, a claim the US embassy has now publicly rejected.

The exchange matters because the blockade argument is central to how each side justifies its actions. The Houthis present their attacks as a response to a siege of Yemen; the United States and Saudi Arabia present them as aggression ordered by Iran, which backs the Houthis. The shipping data is now at the centre of that argument, with Washington pointing to hundreds of vessels reaching Houthi-held ports as evidence that no blockade of Yemen exists.

Frequently asked questions

What did the US Embassy in Yemen say? It said Houthi claims that Yemen is under a blockade are "just slogans" used to justify attacks on Yemen's government and Saudi Arabia on Iran's orders, and that the only blockade is the Houthis' siege of Taiz.

How many ships reached Houthi-held ports? The embassy cited 272 commercial vessels unloading at Hodeidah, as-Salif and Ras Isa between January and September 2026, figures that match United Nations monitoring data.

What is happening in Taiz? Taiz is a government-held city surrounded by Houthi forces. The US embassy says the Houthis are blocking food and fuel from reaching its hospitals and water facilities.