Saudi Arabia lamented on Friday the United Nations Security Council’s inaction on Yemen, which it said helped Iran arm the Houthi militias. Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah al-Mouallimi condemned in the strongest terms the Houthis’ ongoing attacks against international marine trade routes, the latest of which was the targeting of two Saudi oil tankers in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. He said that it was unfortunate that the Security Council was not confronting the blatant violations of its resolutions. The Houthi attack on Wednesday prompted Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend oil shipments through Bab al-Mandeb. The European Union on Friday expressed its “understanding” of the Saudi decision, saying it is closely monitoring the development of events in wake of the Houthi attack. The French Foreign Ministry condemned that assault, underlining the importance of ensuring safety of marine navigation and security in the region. In separate letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council for July, Mouallimi said that the Kingdom strongly condemns the Houthi militias for their ongoing Iran-backed terrorist attacks against international marine trade routes. “Saudi Arabia notes with regret the Security Council’s inaction …. which has allowed Iran to arm the terrorist Houthi militias with several ballistic missiles, drones and sea mines,” he continued. “The Houthis have used and will continue to use these weapons, which they acquired through illegal means, to threaten Saudi borders, Middle Eastern stability and the safety of international navigation in the Red Sea and Mandeb Strait.” Moreover, he voiced Saudi Arabia’s demand that all relevant Security Council resolutions be implemented to prevent the Houthis from using Yemen’s western Hodeidah port as a launchpad for their numerous terrorist attacks. Such attacks are undermining the efforts of UN special envoy Martin Griffiths to reach a political solution in Yemen, Mouallimi warned. He demanded that the Security Council take urgent measures to address the stockpile Houthi arms to “avert an escalation in their attacks that are stoking regional tensions and raising the risk of a broader regional confrontation.” Griffiths, meanwhile, is set to announce on Thursday the launch of settlement talks in Yemen, revealed western sources to Asharq Al-Awsat. The envoy had departed Yemen’s Sanaa on Friday after holding talks with Houthi militias’ leader Abdulmalek al-Houthi. The militants had agreed to join consultations. Griffiths did not reveal any breakthrough on Hodeidah. On the ground, Saudi-led Arab coalition jets intensified their strikes on various position in Hodeidah. Residents said that fighter jets carried out more than 15 strikes on the city’s military police station and various positions in Zabid, al-Zaidiya and al-Durayhimi, reported the German news agency. These were the most intense strikes on Hodeidah since the beginning of military operations there, they added.