Finance Associated Press, January 1 (edited by Niu Zhanlin).The United Kingdom and the United States are working on plans to crack down on the Houthis in Yemen, and the two countries are also preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Houthis to stop their attacks, according to a number of British reports on Sunday (December 31). Earlier, the United States said its navy sank three Houthi ships, killing 10 Houthi fighters.
It is reported that the two countries held talks on the joint statement on Sunday night, with the aim of getting at least two other countries to sign the statement as well. But the report did not give specific information about other countries.
The U.S. Department of Defense** said that the United States would not disclose its military plans in advance, but did not rule out the possibility of launching air strikes in the near future.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that the UK will not hesitate to take "direct action" to prevent further Houthi attacks and curb its threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
A UK** spokesman said: "The situation in the Red Sea is very serious, and Houthi attacks are unacceptable and destabilizing. As you might expect, while we are planning for a range of scenarios, no decision has been made yet, and we will continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues. We call on the Iranian-backed Houthis to stop these attacks, and we are working with allies and partners to protect freedom of navigation. ”
"The U.S. military has an inherent right to self-defense, and if we decide to take any action against the Houthis, we will do so at a convenient time and place," the source noted. ”
According to the U.S. side, Maersk and Houthis on Sunday, four small boats of the Houthis tried to board the "Maersk Hangzhou" cargo ship that day, and Maersk then sent a distress signal to the U.S. team, and then the United States arrived at the scene and sank three Houthi ships, killing people on board, and the fourth boat fled the area where the incident occurred.
Maersk said it would suspend all navigation in the Red Sea for 48 hours after the attack and would be in close dialogue with the relevant authorities to assess the level of security in the area.
Terrible consequences
On Sunday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarrea confirmed the situation, claiming that the Houthis were attacked by a US team while carrying out their "maritime mission", resulting in the death of 10 maritime fighters. He said that the US military should bear the consequences.
He added that the Houthis carried out the attack because the ship's crew refused to heed the warning and headed for a Palestinian port occupied by Israel, where it was then targeted.
Sareya called on other countries not to participate in the actions of the United States, as this could provoke negative consequences and affect everyone.
Sareya also said in a statement that the Houthis have recently successfully launched a military operation against a container ship, firing ** missiles at it. He reiterated that ships "associated with Israel" would be prohibited from passing through the Red Sea, while the normal conduct of other maritime shipping would be guaranteed.
On Monday, Yemen's Houthi leaders were among them.
Ali Houthi, a member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, warned of dire consequences for the United States attacking Yemeni ships in the Red Sea, and that the purpose of the attacks was to ensure the safety of Israeli ships and their economic and ** activities so that the latter could continue its aggression in Gaza.
The Yemeni man also warned other countries not to get caught up in the "quagmire of the United States." "The U.S. is increasingly seeking to drag other countries into this quagmire, and any country that cooperates with the U.S. in its aggression against Yemen will be adventurist in terms of interests, security, and shipping. ”
Yemen reiterated that its actions were directed only at ships bound for Israel, and stressed that its purpose was to put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop the war in Gaza and to allow food and medicine to enter the besieged Palestinian territories.
Finance Associated Press Niu Zhanlin).