Aden (South24 Center)

The Houthi group in Yemen threatened to cut off communication with UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, hours after his briefing to the UN Security Council on Tuesday (August 12), in which he criticized the group’s issuance of new currency notes, describing it as a unilateral step that undermines the national currency and complicates discussions on unifying Yemen’s economy.

Grundberg said that “the issuance by Ansar Allah of new 50-riyal coins and 200-riyal banknotes contributes to the fragmentation of the Yemeni riyal and complicates future discussions to unify the economy and its institutions,” describing the move as “economic escalation” as part of similar unilateral decisions aimed at “dividing institutions rather than unifying them.”

The UN envoy also praised measures taken by the Central Bank in Aden and the government to address currency depreciation, congratulating them on “the marked improvement in the exchange rate” and the stabilization in prices of essential goods. He expressed hope that these steps would mark the beginning of a sustainable economic recovery, adding that further economic division “is in no one’s interest” as it “strangles Yemeni households and suffocates the private sector.”

On the security front, Grundberg spoke of a military escalation on the Al-Aleb front in Saada governorate on July 25, which resulted in a high number of casualties. He also pointed to the Houthis’ fortifying their positions, including around Hodeidah City, and criticized the group’s July 27 announcement to expand the scope of targeting ships in the Red Sea. He urged for de-escalation and an end to attacks that have severely damaged port infrastructure along the west coast.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the Houthi-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a decision to end the UN envoy’s mission “is possible” if he continues to “represent one side and implement the agendas of the aggressor states.” The statement accused Grundberg of bias and of “equating the victim with the perpetrator,” criticizing him for ignoring what it described as “Saudi, Emirati, American, British, and Israeli aggression” and the blockade imposed on Yemen.

The group defended its issuance of the new currency as a “necessary measure to protect the economy” in areas under its control, blaming the Central Bank in Aden and its allies for the currency collapse. It also said its operations in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab were “in solidarity with the Palestinian people” and not part of the internal conflict, stressing that such operations would only stop if the war on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.