US and UK forces have carried out air strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, the BBC reports.
US President Joe Biden says the strikes are in response to attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis on ships in the Red Sea since November.
The Houthis control much of Yemen and say they are supporting ally Hamas by targeting shipping headed to Israel.
The Houthis’ deputy foreign minister warns US and UK will “pay a heavy price” for this “blatant aggression”
Royal Air Force warplanes helped carry out the “targeted strikes” against military facilities, says UK PM.
PM Rishi Sunak adds that the strikes are “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defenses.”
The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided support as part of the mission, says Biden.
Strikes are reported in the capital Sanaa, the Houthi Red Sea port of Hudaydah, Dhamar and north-western Houthi stronghold of Saada.
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned the strikes on Yemen as a “clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a violation of international laws.
The attacks “will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region”, the ministry’s spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a post on the ministry’s Telegram group.
Meanwhile the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah also condemned the strikes on Yemen.
“The American aggression confirms once again that the US is a full partner in the tragedies and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza and the region”, said the Iran-backed group, according to a Reuters report.
