Houthis’ largest attack yet in Red Sea poses test for US resolve
Yemeni rebels defied an ultimatum from the United States and its allies, targeting commercial shipping lanes and apparently a UK Royal Navy warship with their largest drone and missile barrage yet.
WASHINGTON — The United States’ top diplomat issued yet another warning to Yemen’s Houthi rebels following their largest attack yet in the southern Red Sea.
“If these attacks continue, as they did yesterday, there will be consequences,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an impromptu stop in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, amid a wider diplomatic tour of the region.
Blinken directly accused Iran of providing technology and intelligence to enable the attacks, saying the US has “repeatedly tried to make clear to Iran, as other countries have as well, that the support that they’re providing the Houthis, including for these actions, needs to stop.”
The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond, along with multiple US warships and US F/A-18 fighter jets, shot down 18 one-way attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one ballistic missile fired toward shipping lanes on Tuesday night, US Central Command said.
