White House Again Calls on Saudis to End Yemen Blockade

Tillerson: Saudis Need to Be 'A Bit More Thoughtful'

On Wednesday, President Trump issued a statement instructing his government to immediately communicate calls to Saudi Arabia to end the blockade on Yemeni ports, particularly the northern port of Hodeidah, for humanitarian reasons.

On Friday, the White House issued a subsequent statement calling on the Saudis to immediately end the blockade. This followed Thursday comments from the UN suggesting they’ve seen no signs of change or any indication that the many aid ships are to be allowed ito port.

Saudi Arabia has yet to publicly acknowledge the calls, which is likely why the White House felt the need to reiterate the call. The US had previously participated in the Saudi blockade, though as the number of civilians being killed grows, the US has tried to distance itself from the warcrimes.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cited problems with not only the Saudi actions in Yemen, but the Saudi blockade of Qatar and their increasingly threats against Lebanon, saying the Saudis need to be “a bit more thoughtful” about their actions across the Arab world. While that’s putting it mildly, that’s an almost unprecedented amount of US criticism with respect to the Saudis.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.