Defense Secretary Austin says Houthi attacks on shipping vessels an 'international challenge that demands collective action'; Iran-backed group says unfazed by threat.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday announced the creation of a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea following a series of missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.
Austin, who is on a trip to Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's headquarters in the Middle East, said participating countries include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. He said they would conduct joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
"This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative," Austin said in a statement early on Tuesday.
He noted, "The U.S. proposed that we do not intervene in efforts to reach a peace agreement in Yemen in exchange for stopping our military operations in the Red Sea. We rejected the offer."
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said that international shipping lanes were safe for non-Israeli ships or vessels not headed to Israeli ports, writing off any claims otherwise as “American propaganda.”
Source - Ynet - Image - Reuters