DUBAI: The United Nations (UN) failed to encourage the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to allow it to contain the danger caused by the explosion of Safer oil tanker, Yemen’s Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said.

Al-Eryani said that the Houthi militia have been “misusing the issue for years to attain political and financial gains” and added that an explosion of the tanker and any oil spill may lead to a 10-year disaster and affect all Red Sea countries, state news agency Saba News reported.

Earlier in October, the UN called on Houthis to allow its experts to visit the decaying Safer tanker.
“I can tell you that we remain extremely concerned about the oil tanker off the coast of Hodeidah, which is at risk of spilling more than 1.1 million barrels of oil into the Red Sea,” he said at a press conference in New York, adding the UN has sent the Houthis a detailed plan about proposed technical assessment of the tanker.

In September, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami blamed the Houthi militia for the Safer oil tanker’s looming disaster as the militia continued to block the UN’s help to access the damage.

Al-Hadhrami stressed the importance of pressuring the Houthis to allow technicians from the international organization to access the tanker.