The Guardian - 2/4/2024 2:36:17 AM - GMT (+3 )
Defence secretary says third joint UK-US assault on Iran-backed group is to protect lives and ‘preserve freedom of navigation’
The UK has joined the US for a third time in conducting a wave of airstrikes on Iran-linked Houthi targets in Yemen.
The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the fresh assaults were “not an escalation”, but instead were designed to “protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks on boats.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s were supported by Voyager tankers during the joint mission on Saturday with Washington, as they targeted locations in Yemen used by the Houthis.
The Iran-backed militant group has repeatedly launched attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and elsewhere off the Yemen coast, claiming it is targeting Israeli or Israel-destined ships in protest over the war with Hamas in Gaza.
However, it has frequently targeted ships with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, endangering shipping on a key global trade route.
As a result of the clashes in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al Mandab Strait, vessels have had to be redirected around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, a journey that takes longer and is more costly.
The combined strikes follow an air assault by the US in Iraq and Syria on Friday that targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan last weekend.
During Saturday’s attacks, RAF Typhoons used precision-guided bombs against several military targets at three locations, the MoD said.
Allied intelligence had calculated some of the stations were being used to launch drone attacks and to spy on cargo ships and western warships, according to the Whitehall department.
The ministry said the night-time raids were designed to ensure minimal risk of civilian casualties.
Shapps said: “The Houthis’ attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea are illegal and unacceptable and it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation.
“That is why the Royal Air Force engaged in a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
“We acted alongside our US allies, with the support of many international partners, in self-defence and in accordance with international law.
“This is not an escalation. We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further degraded the Houthis’ capabilities.”
A joint statement on the strikes from the UK, US, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand said it was “an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen”.
It said the assault was in response to “a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilising Houthi actions” since previous coalition strikes on 11 and 22 January.
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