Yemeni Leader Says U.S., U.K. Strikes Will Not Stop Houthi Attacks
Yemen's internationally recognized government on Sunday said "defensive" U.S. and British strikes on the Houthis are not enough and called for U.S. and Saudi support to "eliminate" the Houthi ability to stage attacks on Red Sea shipping. Defensive operations are not the solution," Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), told a briefing with journalists in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. He added, "The solution is to eliminate the Houthis' military capabilities." He also said he wanted American and Saudi support for ground operations against the Houthis and that Yemeni forces would need to be "partners" in those operations. The comments of the Yemeni official came on the heels of a U.S. strike early today against an anti-ship missile in Houthi-held Yemen, hours after the Iran-backed Houthis caused a fire on a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden with a similar munition. U.S. and British forces on January 12 fired their first joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis' ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade routes. However, shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden remain unsafe for ships.
Yemen's Houthis said Saturday that they are "keen on peace" and encouraged "adjustments" in the American stance towards Yemen and Palestine, said Hussein Al-Azzi, the Houthi deputy foreign minister, on X. He said they "will encourage the adjustments in American behavior towards Yemen and Palestine." Al-Azzi also warned of their forces' ability to "sink ships and vessels from anywhere around (the coasts of) Yemen to any point in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean." He added that the Houthis will "leave this step for another time" without providing further details. In solidarity with Gaza, which has been under a destructive Israeli war supported by the U.S. since last Oct. 7, the Houthis have been targeting Israeli-owned or operated cargo ships in the Red Sea, carrying goods to and from Israel.
U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking affirmed on Saturday that peace cannot be achieved in Yemen or the region while the Houthi group threatens the world economy. Lenderking told Al-Jazeera that the Houthis must realize that peace cannot be achieved while they threaten the world economy. He added that the actions of the Houthis complicate efforts to deliver supplies to the Gaza Strip.
A drone attack on a base in Jordan killed three American troops on Sunday, with President Joe Biden blaming Iran-backed militants and vowing to hold the perpetrators to account. It is the first time American military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and the incident will further raise tensions in the region and fuel fears of a broader conflict directly involving Iran. "While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," Biden said in a statement.
