YEMEN’S Houthi rebels have guaranteed safe passage for Chinese and Russian ships in the Red Sea, as they continue to wage war on US ships.
Houthi spokesman Muhammed al-Bukhaiti has criticised the US and UK for their role in the operations against Gaza, saying that all vessels in the region are safe as long as they have no links to Israel.
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“The madness and idiocy of the USA and UK have played against themselves – now their ships will not be able to use one of the key trade arteries in the world,” Bukhaiti said to Russian paper Izvestia.
“The US and UK will need to stop aggression against Yemen, stop the war in the Gaza Strip and ensure the uninterrupted flow of medicine, fuel and food.
“Only then will we immediately stop all our operations in the Red Sea.
“The war we are waging today is one of a kind in terms of its moral and ethical frontier.
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“The whole world sympathises with Yemen’s heroic stand to end the genocide of the Palestinian people.
“As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened.
“Moreover, we are ready to ensure the safety of the passage of their ships in the Red Sea, because free navigation plays a significant role for our country.”
Soon after, the Houthis launched a fresh attack on an American ship in the Gulf of Aden.
In a statement posted to social media, the Houthis claimed that their naval forces carried out an operation against the Chem Ranger “with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits”.
The US has since denied this.
The US military’s Central Command said the Houthis “launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, US-Owned, Greek-operated tanker” on Thursday night.
“The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship,” the command said in a post on X.
British maritime risk management company Ambrey said a chemical tanker on the same route had reported an incident southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden.
“An Indian warship responded to the event,” it said.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO also reported an incident in the same area.
It added that the “vessel and crew are safe, vessel proceeding to next port”.
A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry has said that the “harassment” of vessels in the Red Sea must stop.
Mao Ning said: “We call for an end to the harassment of civilian vessels, in order to maintain the smooth flow of global production and supply chains and the international trade order.”
While a spokesperson for Russia has called on the US to halt its strikes against the Houthis, in the interest of reaching a diplomatic resolution.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “The most important thing now is to stop the aggression against Yemen.
“The more the Americans and the British bomb, the less willing the Huthis are to talk.”
Houthi aggression against vessels in the Red Sea has seen a series of strikes in Yemen by US and British forces.
The US destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles preparing for attack on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the US military launched an airstrike on a stash of anti-ship ballistic missiles in Yemen.
Since the UK and the US destroyed dozens of military targets last week in Yemen, the rebel group has vowed “unimaginable” revenge.
Earlier on Tuesday, a missile fired from Yemen hit a Greek-owned cargo ship in the Red Sea.
And the Houthis hit a US-owned cargo ship with a three-rocket barrage on Monday.
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