Iran's arming of Houthi rebels in Yemen is threatening regional stability and global energy security and must stop, foreign ministers of the G7 said.

Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The G7 demanded Tuesday that Iran stop arming Houthi rebels in Yemen, criticized attacks by the group against Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels and an intensification of the fighting in the civil war in Yemen, saying the situation threatened the region and global energy security.

The joint statement issued on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York by foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, plus the EU, came ahead of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's address to the body, set for Wednesday.

They said the state of affairs in Yemen posed an "unacceptable threat to regional stability and security, to global energy security as well as to navigational rights and freedoms, and maritime security in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait."

"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith. Their reprehensible actions constitute a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability," said the G7.

"Looking forward, we will continue to support the legitimate Government of Yemen and reaffirm our strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen," it added, stressing that G7 countries' support lay with the legitimate government of Yemen.

Tehran has in the past acknowledged its support for the Houthis but insists it is limited to political backing and strongly refutes that it provides weapons to the group.

Since the start of September, the Houthis have stepped up their military campaign targeting Saudi oil infrastructure, ships sailing to and from its Red Sea ports and increase the territory they occupy in western Yemen in a southern advance that has seen them effectively seize control of the key Bab al-Mandab Strait entrance to the Red Sea.