Yemen
Country Spotlight
Yemen is a member in good standing of major nonproliferation agreements. With the outbreak of civil war in 2014, ballistic missiles and other weapons flowed into Yemen, and the Yemeni Houthis used the country’s territory to launch missile attacks against foreign belligerents in the conflict, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in late 2023, the Yemeni Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israel and against commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea.
See Yemen's performance in
Region Middle East and North Africa
~300 Scud missiles stockpiled in 2015
2014 Current Yemen Civil War begins
~40 Number of chemical weapons attacks carried out by Egypt on Yemeni territory during the North Yemen Civil War in the 1960s
Nuclear
- Not known to have ever pursued a nuclear weapons program
- Has expressed interest in developing nuclear power, but ongoing conflict has prevented this
- Party to International Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
Overview of the Nuclear Disarmament Resource Collection
Biological
- Not known to have ever pursued a biological weapons program
- Signed the Biological Weapons Convention as North and South Yemen before unification in 1990
Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation
Yemen Overview
Missile
- Possesses Soviet Scud ballistic missiles and North Korean Hwasong ballistic missiles
- Most Yemeni missiles were seized by Houthi rebels after the start of the civil war
- Ongoing civil war has been marked by extensive ballistic missile use by all parties
Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems
Overview: Applying New Tools to Nonproliferation: A Nuclear Detective Story
Chemical
- Subjected to chemical weapons use by Egypt during the North Yemen Civil War in the 1960s
- Not known to have ever pursued a chemical weapons program
- Passed legislation in 2014 to strengthen domestic chemical regulations
Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation
NTI Tutorials
Treaties and Regimes Memberships
- NTI
- CNS
Analysis
Yemen
“A Pivotal Juncture:” Ambassador Laura Holgate on the Future of Nuclear Security
Ahead of the 2024 International Conference on Nuclear Security, U.S. Ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United Nations and the IAEA Laura Holgate joined NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz and Vice President for Nuclear Materials Security Scott Roecker for a conversation on “The Future of Nuclear Security.”
Nuclear Facilities in Times of Crisis
Nuclear Disarmament United States
Education Center