UK prepares to take action against Houthis after Red Sea attacks: report

12 January 2024, The Age, by Sachin Ravikumar

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hold a call with his cabinet about a possible response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping, British media reported on Thursday, London time.

The cabinet call was scheduled for 7.45pm GMT on Thursday (Friday 6.45 am AEDT), the political editor for the Times newspaper said on X, formerly Twitter.

Sunak’s Downing Street office did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

The Telegraph newspaper reported that Britain and the United States were preparing to take military action against the Iran-backed Houthis to protect shipping in the Red Sea.
Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, had hinted on Wednesday (London time) that the US would take action. He urged Houthi rebels to “watch this space”.

“Be in no doubt at all, Iran is guiding what is happening there in the Red Sea, providing them not just with equipment to carry out those attacks but also often with the eyes and ears to allow those attacks to happen,” he said, according to the Telegraph of London.

The Houthi rebels say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

However, their targets increasingly have little — or no — connection to Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.