NEW YORK: The US-Iran nuclear deal has created a potential turning point for Yemen’s long-stalled peace process, the UN’s special envoy for Yemen told the Security Council on Tuesday, urging the warring parties to capitalize on the rare moment of regional calm.
Briefing the 15-member council on the latest developments in the conflict, Hans Grundberg said the deal between Washington and Tehran offers a window that Yemeni stakeholders cannot afford to squander.
“For nearly three years, regional shockwaves have complicated prospects for the Yemeni peace process, deepening mistrust between the parties and deferring willingness for compromise,” he said.
“I hope this deal marks a turning point for the region, and I’ll be working with the parties to encourage them to seize this moment to make progress on Yemen.”
His remarks came as the UN secretary-general also welcomed the US-Iran agreement, reflecting broad international hope that reduced tensions between the two powers could ease the geopolitical pressures that have weighed heavily on diplomatic efforts to end the Yemen conflict.
Grundberg said despite the turbulence elsewhere in the region, Yemen has been partially shielded from its worst effects for now.
The threatened resumption of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea had not materialized, he added, and the relative calm that has held since a 2022 truce remains in place.
But “Yemen’s conflict is unresolved, not over — and every day, it’s Yemenis who bear the cost of this uncertain status quo,” he said.
Entrenched front lines are draining resources, deepening fragmentation and accelerating the militarization of society to the point where students and teachers are joining armed groups purely as a means of economic survival, he added.
The regional conflict has added fresh strain to an already battered Yemeni economy. The country’s heavy dependence on imports, and its geopolitical proximity to the conflict, have driven up the cost of food and fuel, raising inflation.
In recent weeks, protests have broken out in Aden and other governorates over electricity shortages during the summer heat.
Grundberg welcomed economic reforms being pursued by Yemen’s UN-recognized government as steps that could improve living conditions and restore public confidence, and singled out a $150 million Saudi grant to supply fuel to power stations as critical to addressing the electricity crisis in government-held areas.
He also noted the Yemeni government’s efforts to investigate a series of assassinations of public figures, calling continued investment in security and economic stability essential to enabling dialogue — including on the unresolved issue of southern separatism.
The most significant development Grundberg reported was an agreement reached last month by the warring parties to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees, the largest such operation in the history of the Yemen conflict, reached after 14 weeks of UN-mediated negotiations in Amman.
“These negotiations were exceptionally challenging and complex. Trust was low; negotiations stalled multiple times. It required courage and compromise,” he said, urging the parties to move swiftly toward implementation with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Saudi Arabia received particular recognition for its role in supporting the talks, as did Jordan for hosting them.
Oman was credited for hosting a previous round in Muscat that paved the way for the Amman agreement.
On the security track, Grundberg’s office recently convened two meetings under the Military Coordination Committee framework — one with representatives of the Saudi-led Joint Forces Command and the Houthis, and another with the Joint Forces Command and Yemen’s government. A trilateral meeting is being planned.
Despite these incremental steps, the envoy made clear that the core political process — a direct, inclusive negotiation between the parties under UN auspices — remains the essential and still-elusive objective. The parties have not met face-to-face for political talks in several years.
“That process has been postponed for far too long,” Grundberg said. “We need to establish a way forward toward changing that reality — one that will require compromises and good-faith engagement from both parties.”
He issued yet another appeal over the detention of 73 UN personnel being held arbitrarily by the Houthis — many of them since a wave of arrests in June 2024, two years ago this month. Staff from NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions remain among those held.
The Security Council condemned the detentions in a statement on June 6, demanding their unconditional, immediate and safe release.
Grundberg called on the council to maintain that pressure, saying the secretary-general’s recent statement “underscored that these detentions violate international law, cause deep suffering to families, and constrain the UN’s ability to assist millions of people in need.”
