UK Mulling Airstrikes on Houthi Rebels Attacking Shipping in Red Sea, to Issue Joint Warning with US

The UK is considering airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels after the Yemeni outfit attacked a container ship and fired at US Navy helicopters in the Red Sea on Sunday. The US Navy helicopters downed three boats which the rebels used for Sunday’s attack.

UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the government will not hesitate to take“direct action” to prevent further attacks. UK-based the Guardian said both nations are preparing a joint statement which shall issue a final warning to the Yemeni outfit backed by Iran.

On Sunday 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. The US Centcom said the US Navy helicopters killed several crews on the armed Houthi boats and added that no damages were sustained by the choppers or the container ship.

“The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: we are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks. (The UK) won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” Grant Shapps said, in an article published by The Telegraph, another UK-based newspaper.

“We call for the Iranian-backed Houthi to cease these illegal attacks and we are working with allies and partners to protect freedom of navigation,” the UK government said in a separate statement accessed by news agency PA Media.

“The situation in the Red Sea is incredibly serious, and the Houthi attacks are unacceptable and destabilising. As you would expect, while planning is under way for a range of scenarios, no decisions have yet been made and we continue to pursue all diplomatic routes,” the statement added.

The statement was released as UK foreign minister David Cameron spoke to Iran foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday. “I spoke to Amir-Abdollahian today about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which threaten innocent lives and the global economy. I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks given their longstanding support to the Houthis,” Cameron said on X, formerly known as Twitter, in a post after the meeting.

The UK also sent a Royal Navy destroyer that joined international efforts to deter attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea. HMS Diamond joined American and French warships in a US-led taskforce dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, according to a report by PA Media.