Yemeni Government Denies Involvement in Naval Coalition Amidst Rising Attacks on Shipping Lanes in Red Sea

An official source at the Ministry of Defense denied media reports about the Yemeni government's participation in a new international coalition to protect maritime shipping lanes that have been exposed to Houthi attacks over the past few weeks. 

The source indicated that making such sovereign decisions is one of the exclusive tasks and competencies of the state's highest institutions and authorities. 

The source stressed the importance of supporting the capabilities of the Yemeni government and its forces concerned with protecting territorial waters to deter the Houthi threats and contain the disastrous repercussions of such attacks on international peace and security. 

The source warned the Houthi group of the consequences of "their reckless adventures," which risk militarizing Yemeni territorial waters and turning the country into a theater for a broader international conflict.

The source reiterated the principled and firm support of Yemen for the Palestinian people and their right to self-defense and to establish their independent, fully sovereign state.

The Yemeni government has described the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea as a "terrorist" escalation, saying such attacks will cause more harm than good. 

However, the group has continued attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The U.S. Navy destroyer Mason today shot down a Houthi drone launched from Yemen that was headed in its direction as it responded to reports of an attack on a commercial vessel, a U.S. defense official said. The official said the Houthis had attacked the commercial vessel Ardmore Encounter with boats and then fired two missiles that missed the ship.

The group vowed to target any ship that is en route to or from Israel, which has provoked Israel to send more warships to the Red Sea. Israeli media said today the Israeli Navy completed the deployment of four next-gen "Saar 6" model battleships to counter the Houthi rising attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

On November 1, the Israeli military said it had deployed missile boats in the Red Sea on Wednesday as reinforcements, a day after the Iran-backed Houthi movement said it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel.