By Aaron Miller-
The United States and the United Kingdom have conducted a second round of airstrikes in Yemen in a bid to counter ongoing Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the southern Red Sea.
The joint military action comes in the wake of continued Houthi assaults on vessels transiting the Red Sea and the nearby Gulf of Aden.
US officials confirmed the attacks, revealing that the strikes were coordinated between the US and the UK. Initial footage and reports on social media indicated explosions in and around the Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a.
This marks the second time in a month that the two nations have intervened militarily in Yemen to curb Houthi aggression.
President Joe Biden discussed the escalating Red Sea crisis with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier in the day, emphasizing the need to persist in “disrupting and degrading” Houthi military capabilities.
White House spokesman John Kirby stated that both leaders underscored the necessity for a continued international multilateral approach to address the Houthi threat.
“They talked about what’s going on in the Red Sea and the need for a continued international multilateral approach to disrupting and degrading Houthi capabilities,” said Kirby during a press briefing in Washington.
The UK and the US had previously collaborated in a series of airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen just ten days ago, aiming to halt a string of attacks by the rebel group on shipping since mid-October.
Despite these efforts, the Houthi threat persists, with three reported attacks on merchant ships in the past week.
In their latest discussion, Sunak and Biden condemned the surge in violent Houthi attacks and pledged to combat the rebels by exerting diplomatic pressure on Iran, urging the nation to cease its support for the Yemeni group. The leaders also signaled a readiness for targeted military action to degrade Houthi capabilities.
The Houthi movement, in response, claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the American military cargo ship Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea asserted that the Yemeni armed forces would continue to retaliate against any aggression from the US and the UK.