“There is no justification for this aggression against Yemen given that there were no threats to international shipping through the Red Sea. The target were and will remain the ships linked to Israel and those going to the ports of occupied Palestine”. This was stated by a spokesman for the HouthisMohamed Abdel Salam, in a post on 'X' after the airstrikes by the US and UK forces.
The raids took place during the night. Several Houthi targets are targeted in the areas of Yemen controlled by the pro-Iranian armed group after repeated drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. US President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes “in direct response to the Houthis' unprecedented attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea”.
“Under my direction, US military forces, together with the United Kingdom and with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands – Biden underlined in a statement released by the White House – have conducted successful attacks against a series of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways.” Biden added that he “will not hesitate to direct additional measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
The reactions
There Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. The Russian permanent mission announced this on its Telegram channel.
Iran has strongly condemned the US and UK attacks. “They are an arbitrary act and a flagrant violation of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” stressed Nasser Kanani, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, adding that it is “a violation of international law.”
These “arbitrary” attacks, he further remarked, “will only increase insecurity and instability in the region. While the Zionist regime continues to carry out its war crimes and attacks in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United States and Britain are trying to broaden their support for the Zionist regime.”
Hezbollah condemned “the grave Anglo-American aggression against the sovereignty of Yemen and its people”. “American aggression confirms once again that America is the full partner in the tragedies and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza and the region and is working to support him and provide him with the means to fuel his death machine and of destruction against all those who stand alongside the oppressed Palestinian people throughout the region”, commented Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese news agency 'Nna'.
Saudi Arabia expressed its “great concern over the raids” carried out during the night and called for “moderation” and to “avoid escalation”. This is what we read in a note from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh stressed “the importance of maintaining security and stability in the Red Sea region, as freedom of navigation is an international demand.”
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