Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued a warning.
On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued a warning, expressing readiness for a prolonged conflict with the United States and its allies in the Red Sea. The group’s military commander, Muhammad al-Attifi, asserted unity between his faction and Yemen in opposition to the U.S. and Britain, following a series of retaliatory airstrikes by the allies targeting militants disrupting trade and travel routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Al-Attifi declared in response to the Western-led attacks, “We are prepared for a long-term confrontation with the forces of tyranny. The Americans, the British, and those who coordinated with them must realise the power of the sovereign Yemeni decision and that there is no debate or dispute over it.”
This announcement came a day after thousands of group members and supporters gathered in Yemen’s capital to celebrate recent attacks in a parade. The rebels initiated these assaults in protest against Western allies supporting Israel in its conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
While U.S. and UK officials noted that many of the daily attacks by Yemeni militants miss their intended targets, a Houthi missile reportedly struck a British-linked tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, causing the Marlin Luanda to catch fire. U.S., French, and Indian naval ships were deployed to aid the British tanker carrying a highly flammable chemical used to dilute crude oil.
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps condemned the attacks, asserting that his nation would not tolerate them and reaffirming Britain’s commitment to combat the Houthi rebels alongside the U.S. In response to the assault on the British tanker, the Houthis claimed, without presenting evidence, that they had attacked a U.S. Navy vessel, the USS Lewis B. Puller, in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. However, American officials denied the claim, stating that no such attack had been reported by the mobile base.
The U.S. and Britain have conducted multiple retaliatory strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, targeting command posts, weapons depots, and training facilities. Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi had previously welcomed an all-out war against the U.S. and its allies, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to engage directly with Israel and America.
