UK and US launch attack on Houthis in Yemen

The United States and Britain have begun carrying out attacks on Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, four US officials told Reuters on Thursday.

It was the first time the Iran-backed group has been attacked since it began attacking international ships in the Red Sea late last year, an offensive that promises to continue.

“These attacks are in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea,” said Joe Biden, US President.

Rishi Sunak also responded: “The United Kingdom will always demonstrate its position in favor of free shipping and free trade.” Later in a statement, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom reinforced the “self-defense” inherent in the “limited, necessary and proportionate” attacks being carried out.

The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have attacked Red Sea shipping lanes to show support for Hamas. The attacks have disrupted international trade on the main route between Europe and Asia, which accounts for about 15% of global maritime trade.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an official statement detailing the attacks would be made soon.

This Thursday, the Houthi leader said that any US attack on the group will not go unanswered.

The US military said on Thursday that the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the group’s 27th attack since November 19.

The Houthis have already confirmed that they are under attack from the US and UK. “The US-British aggression against Yemen has led to several attacks on the capital Sanaa, Hodeidah, Saada and Dhamar provinces,” Houthi spokesman Abdul Qader al-Mortada said on social network X.

“Our country has become the target of massive aggression from North American and British ships, submarines and warplanes, and there is no doubt that the United States and Great Britain will have to be prepared to pay a high price,” the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized. Houthi case Hussein al-Ezzi on social network X.

This Friday, a Yemeni rebel spokesman assured that the Houthis will continue to attack Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, accusing the US and UK of unjustified attacks.

“There is no justification for this aggression against Yemen, since there was no threat to international shipping in the Red Sea,” said Mohamed Abdel Salam.

In a message published on the social network X, the leader assured that “the targets have been and will be Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

International reaction

In the Telegram messenger, the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN stated that it “demanded an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on January 12 in connection with the attacks by the United States and Great Britain in Yemen.”

China is “concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, calling on “the parties involved to remain calm and exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from spreading.”

For Iran, “these arbitrary attacks will have no effect other than to increase insecurity and instability in the region,” a spokesman for the country’s Foreign Ministry said. Nasser Kanani strongly condemned the bombings as “arbitrary acts, a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of international law.”