The US military carried out another strike on a Houthi-controlled site in Yemen early Saturday, targeting a location which they considered to pose a threat to commercial vessels in the Red Sea. This action followed a series of airstrikes by the US and Britain against Houthi rebels on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENTUN Secretary General António Guterres urged all sides "not to escalate the situation even more" after initial strikes, which, hit 28 locations and over 60 targets, with President Joe Biden warning of the possibility of further strikes against the Houthis.
The decision to strike again came after the US Navy issued a warning on Friday, advising American-flagged vessels to avoid specified areas in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours following the initial airstrikes.
The Houthis had vowed retaliation, escalating tensions in a region already beset by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
US military and White House officials said they expected the Houthis to try to strike back.
According to the Houthis five people were killed and six were injured in the initial strikes. The US targeted 28 different Houthi-controlled areas in two waves of strikes.
Iran criticised the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stating that arbitrary attacks would only contribute to insecurity and instability in the region.
As protesters gathered in Tehran on Friday, burning British, American and Israeli flags as they chanted slogan condemning all three nations for the strikes.
At a UN Security Council meeting, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US, UK, and their allies of "blatant armed aggression" against Yemen, cautioning that continued escalation could lead to a catastrophe in the entire Middle East region.
In response, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward defended the strikes as acts of self-defense, emphasising the need for de-escalation, particularly from the Houthis who were jeopardising international shipping lines.