One member of Yemen’s presidential leadership council welcomed a plan by a U.S. congressman to present a proposal aimed at designating the Houthi rebels and their backers with sanctions.

Based on a statement published by Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the X network, Abdullah Al-Aliimi, in a meeting with Joe Wilson in New York, thanked for the initiative “Liberating Yemen from Iran.” The two sides discussed developments in Yemen and the threat to shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Al-Aliimi said the threat posed by the Houthis “is no longer an internal matter in Yemen” and has become a “direct challenge to regional and international security.”

He called for an international response to the group’s financial, arms, and technology resources, as well as support for Yemen’s military and security forces.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen are supported with arms and financial backing by the Islamic Republic of Iran.