On Feb. 26, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution threatening sanctions against those who hinder Yemen's political transition. The resolution didn’t identify or blacklist individuals, but instead created a committee to examine potential spoilers in Yemen, and freeze their assets or impose travel bans. The resolution appeared, however, to target former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his former Vice President Ali Salim al-Beidh, a southern secessionist leader based outside of Yemen.

This is the Security Council's strongest action yet in relation to Yemen's political transition. Authorizing its actions under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, the Security Council sent a very strong message to Yemeni political factions regarding their actions in relation to the transition. Though the resolution primarily aims to sanction or warn Saleh, it also sends a clear message to other political factions, like the Houthis, that if violence continues to be their main tool, they will face the same destiny as Saleh.

The resolution comes after international diplomats and Yemen’s current president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, expressed concern regarding Saleh’s role in hindering Yemen's transition, as the former president pushed back against the political process adopted by the international community in Yemen.

Hadi has repeatedly accused Saleh of trying to return Yemen to its pre-2011 order — a claim that is partially true. Considering other regional scenarios — like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resisting the powerful uprising against him, and the Egyptian military reasserting control of the country — Saleh likely regrets stepping down from power.