Chris Smith: “I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 599 urges a political solution to the war in Yemen, condemns…”

“I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 599 urges a political solution to the war in Yemen, condemns Iranian efforts to fuel the deadly violence, and calls on all parties to the conflict to increase efforts to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent civilian casualties and to increase humanitarian accesses. Events of the past week demonstrate the urgency of resolving this perilous conflict. On Saturday, November 4, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired an Iranian-made ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia's capital. By Monday, Riyadh, in the midst of a massive palace shakeup, described the attack as an ``act of war'' by Iran and ordered all Yemen's land, sea, and air ports of entry closed. Saudi Arabia said the port closures were necessary to prevent Iran from continuing to arm the Houthis, but the move also spelled dire consequences for Yemen's civilian population, suffering under its third year of punishing wartime conditions. In a country where nearly 70 percent of the population needs some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, port closures have the distinct look of collective punishment. Although Saudi Arabia, this morning, announced it would begin lifting the restrictions, this dramatic sequence of events underscores the potential this war has on any given hour or day to explode into a regional confrontation and even greater humanitarian catastrophe.…”