Houthi Leader Threatens to Attack US Warships in Response to Red Sea Multilateral Effort

Abdulmalik Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthi movement, has warned that if the US targets Yemen, it will attack US warships. A Houthi military helicopter is photographed in the Red Sea in November, 2023. Reuters / Houthi Military Media / Leaflet via REUTERS / File Photo

DUBAI (Reuters) – Abdulmalik Houthi, the leader of the pro-Iranian Houthi movement, warned on Wednesday that he would attack U.S. warships if the United States targeted Yemen.

The move appears to be a response to the US announcement of a multilateral effort to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, amid a series of attacks on ships by the Houthis.

“If the United States targets Yemen or starts a war, we will not stand by. We will target America, our warships, and our interests,” Houthi said in a televised address.

He also called on other countries not to join the US-led multilateral effort in the Red Sea. The countries taking part in the initiative include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, and will carry out joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. See more

The Houthis say the attack in the Red Sea was in response to Israel’s attack on Gaza, a Palestinian territory controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.

Houthi also warned that sending US troops to Yemen would be “a more difficult situation than what we faced in Afghanistan and Vietnam.”

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