UK Overseas Secretary David Cameron says escalating assaults by Iran-backed teams can’t be tolerated.
The US has introduced that it shot down 4 drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis, as the UK’s prime diplomat branded the insurgent group’s ally Iran a “malign affect”.
The USS Laboon guided-missile destroyer downed the drones as they have been travelling in direction of the vessel and there have been no accidents or harm, US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Saturday.
The USS Laboon additionally responded to misery calls from a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker and an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker that got here underneath assault.
“These assaults symbolize the 14th and fifteenth assaults on business delivery by Houthi militants since October 17,” CENTCOM stated in a submit on X.
The Houthis additionally fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into worldwide delivery lanes within the Southern Crimson Sea however no vessels have been hit within the assaults, CENTCOM stated.
Individually, the US Defence Division stated {that a} drone launched from Iran struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker within the Indian Ocean early on Saturday.
No casualties have been reported.
The UK Maritime Commerce Operations company earlier stated {that a} drone had exploded close to a vessel within the Bab el-Mandab Strait, off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis, who management giant elements of Yemen, have waged an escalating marketing campaign of drone and missile assaults on business delivery because the begin of the warfare in Gaza, in what the insurgent group has characterised as a present of help for Palestinians going through Israeli bombardment.
The US on Tuesday launched a multinational safety pressure, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, to guard delivery amid escalating assaults within the waterway, one of many world’s busiest commerce routes.
The most recent assaults got here as UK Overseas Secretary David Cameron condemned Iran for supporting the Houthis and different armed teams.
In an interview revealed within the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Cameron stated Tehran has been a “completely malign affect within the area and on the earth”.
“You’ve obtained the Houthis, you’ve obtained Hezbollah, you’ve obtained the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq which have really been attacking British and American bases, troops. And, after all, Hamas,” the previous UK prime minister stated.
“So that you’ve obtained all of those proxies, and I feel it’s extremely essential that, to start with, Iran receives an extremely clear message that this escalation is not going to be tolerated.”
Cameron’s remarks comply with claims by the US White Home that Iran has been “deeply concerned” in assaults by Houthi rebels on business ships within the Crimson Sea.
Tehran has acknowledged supporting the Houthis politically however denied arming the group.
Iran’s Deputy Overseas Minister Ali Bagheri on Saturday dismissed the accusations that Tehran has supplied the Houthis with weapons and intelligence, saying the insurgent group has its “personal instruments” and acts “in accordance with its personal selections and capabilities”.