Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group.
It comes after the US military said four boats from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired at the Maersk Hangzhou and came within metres of the vessel as US helicopters fired back.
Several crews on the armed Houthi boats were killed, the US Central Command (Centcom) said. No one was injured on the ship.
Writing in the Telegraph, Shapps said the UK “won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea”.
“The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: we are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks,” he said.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group.
This month a Royal Navy destroyer joined international efforts to deter attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea.
Multiple reports have said the UK is weighing up the possibility of an armed response as the Iran-backed Houthis claim attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.
“I spoke to [Amir-Abdollahian] today about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which threaten innocent lives and the global economy,” Lord Cameron said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou reported that it had already been hit by a missile on Saturday night while crossing the southern Red Sea and requested assistance, Centcom said in a statement.
On Saturday, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.
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