Houthi airstrikes live: UK and US bomb rebel group in Yemen

Iran on Friday condemned the US-Britain attack on several cities of Yemen targeting the Houthi rebel group.

“We consider it a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws, regulations, and rights,” foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

The statement comes a day after Tehran seized another tanker involved in an earlier crisis over America seizing oil targeted by international sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

The US Air Force says America, Britain and their allies struck more than 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations on Thursday night.

More than 100 precision-guided munitions of various types were used in the strikes, it said.

These strikes were comprised of coalition air and maritime attacks, including US Naval Forces Central Command aircraft and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from surface and sub-surface platforms.

The USS Florida, a guided missile submarine that crossed into the Red Sea on 23 November, was part of the attack on Yemen, according to a US official.

The Houthi rebel group claimed on Friday that there was no justification for the joint US-British attack on its assets in Yemen, and that the Iran-backed group will continue targeting ships heading towards Israel.

The statement was posted on X by Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam.

The US and Britain launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea in support of Gaza.

Ali al-Qahoum, a high-ranking Houthi official, vowed there would be retaliation after the US and Britain jointly launched military strikes on the rebels in Yemen.

“The battle will be bigger … and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British,” he said in a post on X.

The Houthi-run satellite news channel Al-Masirah said the strikes hit at least five targets: the Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa; the airport in the port city of the Hodeida; a camp east of Saada; the airport in the city of Taiz and finally an airport near Hajjah.

Australia provided personnel support to the US and UK in their strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, defence minister Richard Marles said on Friday.

“Australia’s support of these actions came in the form of personnel in the operational headquarters,” Mr Marles told a news conference.

“Australia will continue to support any actions which assert the global rules-based order.”

A group of demonstrators gathered outside the White House overnight following a joint strike by the US and Britain on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The protesters carrying posters and Palestinian flags chanted: “Hands off Yemen.”

A group simultaneously gathered at Times Square, chanting slogans such as “hands off the Middle East,” “hands off Yemen,” and “hands off Gaza.”

US president Joe Biden said military strikes on more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen were meant to show that the US and its allies “will not tolerate” the militant group’s ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea – including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.”

The retaliatory strike used warship-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, US officials said, with targets including logistical hubs, air defence systems and weapons storage locations.

Japan supports the US and British allies acting to secure safe passage of vessels near the Arabian Peninsula, the government’s top spokesperson said on Friday.

Japan condemns acts by Houthi forces that violate free passage of ships in the region, chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

Saudi Arabia has called for restraint and “avoiding escalation” after air strikes launched by the US and the UK against sites linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, which has in recent months engaged in peace talks with Yemen’s Houthis, was closely monitoring the situation with “great concern”, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“The kingdom emphasises the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, as the freedom of navigation in it is an international demand.”