Houthis vow to continue Red Sea attacks despite US-led strikes

Western airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen overnight won’t stop its fighters from harassing shipping in the Red Sea, the Iranian-backed militant group insisted on Friday amid the most significant escalation in the months-long crisis to date.

After the U.S., U.K. and a handful of other allies hit dozens of strategic military targets with precision munitions in the early hours of the morning, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the movement’s supreme council, decried the "unjustified" military operation and insisted a "response" would be announced in a statement later on Friday.

The Houthis’ self-described deputy foreign minister, Hussein Al-Ezzi, added that "America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price" for their role in the strikes, which Western officials say took out key weapons storage facilities, air defense systems and drone launch sites used to attack civilian vessels in the busy waterways of the Red Sea.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesperson for the Shia rebels, went on to insist that the group would continue its assaults on shipping it says is linked to Israel in retaliation for the war in Gaza. Dozens of oil tankers and cargo ships have come under indiscriminate fire in recent weeks, with a Washington-led naval coalition forced to intercept anti-ship missiles and prevent hijacking attempts.

According to U.S. Central Command, its forces carried out the strikes in coordination with British troops and with support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain.

“We hold the Houthi militants and their destabilizing Iranian sponsors responsible for the illegal, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks on international shipping that have impacted 55 nations so far, including endangering the lives of hundreds of mariners, including the United States,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla.

Iran, which has consistently supported the Houthis as part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel, insisted the operation amounted to "a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity." Iran’s close allies in Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group also voiced support for the Houthis, as their own fighters continue to fire rockets across the border into Israel.

Just hours before, Tehran’s navy boarded and commandeered a Greek-operated cargo ship sailing around the Strait of Hormuz, bound for Turkey with a cargo of Iraqi oil. Iran has also deployed an aging warship of its own to the Red Sea, prompting fears of a direct confrontation with Western fleets.