A final warning was issued on Wednesday by the United States and 12 allied nations to Houthis, urging them to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or potentially face targeted military action, Associated Press reported.
The Houthis, based in Yemen, have carried out at least 23 attacks in response to genocide in Gaza where Israel has killed nearly 22,000 Palestinians since October 7.
A senior official from the Biden administration, speaking on the condition of anonymity with Associated Press, chose not to provide details on the rules of engagement in the event of continued attacks. However, the official said that the Iranian-backed Houthis should not expect any further warnings from the US and its allies.
The joint statement, issued earlier on Wednesday, was signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. The statement condemned the attacks and said that international patience was running thin.
The unnamed official spoke shortly after the release of the joint statement, expressing concern over the attacks. The US separately urged the United Nations Security Council to take action against the Houthis and issued a warning to Iran, their financial supporter, regarding continued support for them.
The joint statement called for an immediate end to the illegal attacks and the release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. It warned that the Houthis would bear responsibility for the consequences if they persisted in threatening lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the critical waterways of the region.
For weeks, the Houthis have claimed responsibility for attacks on ships in the Red Sea, linking them to Israel or ships heading to Israeli ports. They assert that these attacks aim to halt the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
