Biden to end US support for offensive operations in Yemen

President Joe Biden is cutting off US support for “offensive operations” in Yemen and appointing a special envoy to push for a diplomatic solution to end the six-year civil war. 

“This war has to end. To underscore our commitment, we're ending all American support for offensive operations for the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales,” Biden said during a speech delivered at the State Department on Thursday.

In keeping with a campaign pledge, Biden said the US would be taking a more active role in ending the conflict and as part of those efforts, he named career diplomat Timothy Lenderking as special envoy to Yemen. Lenderking served as deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and most recently, was a top official for Arabian Gulf affairs at the State Department. 

A senior State Department official who has worked with Lenderking described him as an “excellent diplomat” who knows the key players in Yemen’s conflict as well as anyone, and “genuinely cares in his heart about ending the suffering of Yemeni civilians.”