Houthis fire anti-ship missile ‘in response’ to US-British strikes in Yemen

Houthis fire anti-ship missile “in response” to the strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom on the positions of the rebel group in Yemen, General Douglas Sims of the American General Staff declared Friday, January 12, specifying that the missile had not hit any ship. The United States and the United Kingdom targeted thirty Houthi military sites during the night from Thursday to Friday, with a total of more than one hundred and fifty strikes, he said.

US President Joe Biden, in his first public comment since this operation, reiterated that he “would respond” if “the Houthis continue their unacceptable behavior”. He added ” think “ that the American strikes against the Houthis in Yemen had not caused any “civilian victims”arguing that “for this reason also [les frappes sont] a success “he said during a brief exchange with journalists while visiting a business in Allentown, Pennsylvania (in the northeast of the United States).

The American president, to whom journalists asked what message he had for Tehran after striking this rebel group supported by the Iranians, retorted: “I have already sent my message to Iran. »

“All US-British interests have become legitimate targets”

The Houthi rebels had threatened to retaliate against the American-British strikes. “All US-British interests became legitimate targets for the Yemeni armed forces after the direct and overt aggression” against Yemen, the Supreme Political Council of the Houthis, a high authority of the rebels, warned on Friday in a press release.

American and British strikes, “73 raids”targeted military sites in Sanaa and in the governorates of Hodeida (west), Taiz (south), Hajjah (northwest) and Saada (north), the Houthi military spokesperson announced earlier.

The Houthi movement is part of the “axis of resistance” established by Iran, which brings together groups hostile to Israel in the region, notably Lebanese Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq and Syria. “This aggression (…) will not remain unanswered”said the Houthi spokesperson, declaring that five people had been killed and six injured among the rebels.

For Tehran, a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty” of Yemen

For its part, Iran condemned Friday the strikes carried out against Houthi targets in Yemen, denouncing a “blatant violation of sovereignty” from this country. The British-American operation responded to the increase in attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Yemeni rebels. Supported by Iran, the Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a war against Hamas.

In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said “strongly condemned” attacks carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom against several cities in Yemen. After Friday prayers in Tehran, hundreds of people gathered in support of the Palestinian and Yemeni people, chanting slogans hostile to the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, according to a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

State television broadcast images of similar protests in several other Iranian cities. She later showed footage of a protest outside the UK embassy in Tehran, where participants waved Palestinian and Yemeni flags. “Down with Israel”, “Down with the United States” And “Down with Britain”, chanted the demonstrators, burning the flags of the three countries, according to an AFP journalist. In Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered against the American and British strikes.

UN calls to avoid “escalation”

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, called “all parties concerned to avoid an escalation of the situation in the interests of peace and stability in the Red Sea and the entire region”through its spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during a press briefing.

At the request of Russia, the UN Security Council was to meet urgently on Friday afternoon on the subject. The Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday demanding an end to ” immediate “ Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, also noting the right of member states to defend ships against such attacks.

“The Secretary-General reaffirms that attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea are unacceptable, jeopardize the safety and security of global supply chains and have a negative impact on the economic and humanitarian situation in the whole world “added his spokesperson.