The announcement plunges the Middle East deeper into war, as the Iran-allied Houthis have scored a series of triumphs in Yemen on the battlefield since the conflict was reignited.
Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, the exiled president of the Saudi-backed government, speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, last year. Much of the government operates from Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Yemenβs capital, Sanaa, was bombarded overnight, after government forces reported some of the most intense clashes in years around Taiz, the countryβs third largest city.