Yemen airstrikes newest: Fresh missile assault on Red Sea ship reported after Houthis vow revenge | EUROtoday

Houthi militants mistakenly focused a tanker carrying Russian oil in a missile assault on Friday night off Yemen, a British maritime safety agency has stated.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation stated it had acquired a report of a missile being fired 90 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s port metropolis of Aden.

“The master reported a missile landing in the water 400-500 metres away, and being followed by three small craft,” the UKMTO advisory be aware stated, including that there have been no accidents or harm.

Maritime safety specialists Ambrey stated: “This was the second tanker mistakenly targeted by the Houthis whilst carrying Russian oil.”

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants, who management a lot of Yemen, have launched wave after wave of exploding drones and missiles at Western industrial vessels within the Red Sea since mid-November.

There ought to be no query in regards to the sound authorized foundation for what the US and UK did, with minimal casualties. But this newest battle can’t be allowed to develop a momentum of its personal:

Peter Ricketts, former authorities nationwide safety adviser, has stated he doesn’t suppose the UK and US strikes will escalate right into a regional struggle with Iran.

Lord Ricketts informed the BBC that the allies had calculated that motion might be restricted to coping with the Houthis.

He added: “I don’t believe that Iran is looking to get involved in this. I think it suits Iran fine to have their proxies doing this to show that they are leading in the anti-Israel, anti-West stakes as far as the Muslim world is concerned.”

But Lord Ricketts warned that biggest threat of spillover is “extremist pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and in Syria who may well launch attacks on US bases there”.

The Pentagon seems cautiously optimistic that Iran-backed Houthis shall be unable to duplicate the kind of complicated assaults they not too long ago carried out within the Red Sea.

US Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff, stated 28 areas had been hit, utilizing greater than 150 munitions.

“I know we have degraded (their) capability,” Sims stated.

“I don’t believe that they would be able to execute the same way they did the other day. But we will see,” he added.

Lord West, the previous Royal Navy chief, backed the navy motion – however stated Mr Sunak should be ready to strike once more if vital.

The peer informed The Independent: “What do we do if they [the Houthis] do the next attacks? Do we up the ante? That’s the next difficult decision. If they keep acting innocent merchant ships and our warships, then I think we will have to do something.”

Lord West, chief of UK naval employees from 2002 to 2006, performed down the probabilities of a wider escalation with Iran.

“One of the reasons the Iranians boarded that oil tanker off Oman was because we had done nothing to the Houthis,” he stated.

“I think the strikes will make Iran think, ‘Oh hang on – they do take it seriously’.

“I don’t believe it will escalate,” he added. “Opinion in the Arab street might be unfavourable. But there are terrorist groups who spend their time trying to kill us anyway, so it won’t change the threat picture that much.”

The Houthis are a part of what Tehran labels an “axis of resistance” – which incorporates Hamas and Hezbollah from Lebanon – towards Israel, the US and the broader West. All it’s worthwhile to find out about what’s taking place and why:

Former British Army chief Richard Dannatt backed Rishi Sunak’s “necessary” motion towards the Houthis, and stated stress ought to be placed on Iran.

“If it wants to prevent escalation into the Red Sea, it’s up to Iran to rein back the Houthis,” he informed the BBC.

Lord Dannatt stated the UN Security Council’s everlasting members – together with China, France and Russia – had a accountability to “take action to protect world interests”, including: “The fragility of world chain supplies are being exposed in the Red Sea.”

Former Tory Middle East minister Alistair Burt has steered that some teams within the Middle East will accuse the UK and US of attempting to escalate battle within the area together with Israel.

“We say we have dealt with the threat to shipping in the Red Sea, and that is correct. But that does not mean other people will believe us and will not have their own narrative. The Houthis will certainly link it to Israel and what’s happening in Gaza,” he informed Sky News.

Mr Burt stated it was “quite separate issue in my mind”, however he added: “So quite separately, the UK and US should now make very clear to Israel that its ground offensive in Gaza has got to come to an end.”

A senior US navy spokesperson has stated they don’t anticipate a excessive variety of casualties provided that missile launchers have been positioned in rural areas.

The UK and the US hit just below 30 areas in Yemen, and predict Houthi rebels to make some try and retaliate.

A pessimistic chance is that the struggle within the Red Sea and for Yemen – a pitifully poor, damaged nation – now escalates, unpredictably, right into a proxy struggle between the West and Israel versus Iran and its allies, writes Sean O’Grady: