Washington: Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, expressed "concern" over the failure to extend the cease-fire with the Houthis after it expired on October 2 but would not say whether Iran was to blame.

Lenderking said the Houthis made "last-minute" demands, which meant they were "essentially backtracking from commitments they had earlier in the process," during a briefing on Wednesday that Arab News was present for.

Lenderking replied, "We don't know," when asked if the Houthi-supporting Iranian regime could be to blame. Tehran backed the two-month ceasefire, backed by the UN, when it was agreed upon on April 2 and again when it was extended without incident on June 2 and August 2.

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He blamed "maximalist and impossible demands" made by Houthi negotiators regarding the payment of salaries to their "military and security personnel" for the failure to reach an agreement this month on a third extension.

According to Lenderking, the threat of major violence returning will persist until the cease-fire is renewed. Furthermore, without a shift to a "more positive approach," Iran's participation in the process will continue to be seen as "quite negative."

It is still in our country's best interests to assist our Gulf allies in fending off outside aggression, and we would do so if the threat of aggression came from Yemen, according to Lenderking.

In order to address both current and potential threats, the president and the secretary of state have made it abundantly clear that the United States will continue to support our Gulf allies' justifiable defence requirements. And that includes attacks against Saudi Arabian and UAE targets that cross borders from Yemen and other countries.

"After all, there are more than 120,000 Americans who reside and work in the Gulf nations. I am aware that the president and secretary's top priority is ensuring the safety of Americans living abroad.

Lenderking reaffirmed that the door is still open for peace negotiations to resume, saying that doing so would benefit the Houthis and all of Yemen's citizens, but he denounced recent threats.

He continued, "Houthi rhetoric that threatened oil companies and commercial shipping is totally unacceptable.

The envoy stated that the "future transfer" of defensive weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including "additional Patriot missiles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to the UAE," had been authorised by the Biden administration with support from Congress.

These weapons were crucial in protecting both nations from cross-border missile and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks coming from Yemen, he continued.

"Let me emphasise the crucial point here: We are urging restraint from all parties, as is the case with the international community. We must insist on maximum restraint being exercised by all parties at this particularly sensitive time, when there is no official truce on the books that has been agreed upon, welcomed, and adhered to by the parties.

According to Lenderking, the April truce brought about a number of advantages for the Yemeni people, including a dramatic 60 percent decrease in civilian casualties, the ability for more than 25,000 Yemenis to fly abroad on commercial flights for the first time since 2016, and a five-fold increase in the volume of fuel shipments passing through Hodeidah Port in comparison to the previous year, which helped to lower fuel prices.

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Additionally, the ceasefire made it easier for humanitarian organisations to operate in the nation.

Lenderking warned that the needs of civilians "are great and the funding is not adequate," adding that he and his organisation are "extremely concerned" about the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

"The US has contributed $5 billion to the conflict overall, $1 billion to the humanitarian fund this year," he continued.

Until a definitive peace deal is reached, the US will keep the Houthis on its list of foreign terrorist organisations, according to Lenderking.

In order to uphold the terms of the ceasefire, he continued, "We are also relying on commitments that the Saudis and the Yemeni government have made."

So let's examine the commitments that the Houthis are prepared to make. Reduce the maximalist requirements. Resuming the constructive dialogue that has been ongoing for the past six months on achieving an expanded truce, advancing toward the long-lasting cessation of hostilities, and establishing the Yemeni-to-Yemeni political process that we all desire

Lenderking tried to cast the most favourable possible light on the most recent events, saying: "We do see that key elements of the truce continue to hold and that intensive, UN-led negotiations and US diplomacy continue unabated.

Let me be clear when I refer to key components of the truce holding. I mean, the level of violence in the nation is still comparatively low. Fuel ships are still unloading into the port of Hodeidah. Commercial, civil flights out of Sanaa airport will operate more frequently. 

Over the past six months, these specific components of the ceasefire have proven to be highly effective and have given the Yemeni people observable benefits.

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In our opinion, there is a stark choice that must be made: on the one hand, Yemen could return to war, which would result in more confusion about the conflict's direction as well as deaths and destruction.

However, "there is the opportunity to not only extend but expand the truce" if a new ceasefire can be agreed upon. That is, to increase the truce's positive aspects, such as the flights I previously mentioned. Discussions about adding more flight destinations have been ongoing and very active with many different nations.

We anticipate even more efficiency in the way fuel is processed before being delivered to Hodeidah. We anticipate being able to agree on salary payments. 

One of the main demands from both sides has been this: To be able to pay Yemeni civil servants their salaries who haven't gotten paid in years, including teachers, nurses, and other government employees.

If the parties, especially the Houthis, choose the path of peace, benefits like these could be at stake. The international community and the United States both see it as a very clear choice.

Lenderking emphasised once more that "all channels remain open" for talks to extend the cease-fire and resume negotiations in order to prevent a worsening of the situation.