Iran 'knows not to do anything', says Biden after strikes in Yemen
Updated January 13, 2024 — 1.28pm
Dubai: The United States and Britain have defended as legal under international law the military strikes they carried out against the Houthis in Yemen, which came in retaliation for the Iran-backed group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
US President Joe Biden told Iran not to get involved, following a warning from Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi that further attacks were “imminent”.
President Biden says he considers the Houthis to be a terrorist group.Credit: Bloomberg
“I’ve already delivered the message to Iran – they know not to do anything,” Biden told reporters. “We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis as they continue this outrageous behaviour, along with our allies.”
The US military launched another strike, believed to be smaller in scale, on Saturday AEDT, two US officials told Reuters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide further details.
US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the strikes on more than 60 targets in Yemen were consistent with international law and the UN Charter.
The operation was designed “to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ ability to continue the reckless attacks against vessels and commercial shipping,” she said. More than 2000 ships have been forced to divert from the Red Sea since November.
British ambassador Susan Woodward described the strikes as a “limited, necessary and proportionate action” carried out in “self-defence”.
Biden said he considered the Houthis a terrorist group, suggesting Washington might restore its previous designation of the group that was revoked in 2021.
On Saturday AEDT, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Middle Eastern waters, reported a new missile attack off Yemen, with a missile was fired towards a ship some 140 kilometres south-east of Aden. The vessel reported no injuries or damage, the organisation said.
Earlier, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi told tens of thousands of supporters in Yemen’s capital Sanaa that counterattacks were “imminent”, raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza, and putting Western naval forces on high alert.
In Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in north-west Yemen, protesters gathered for a rally, denouncing the US and Israel. Crowds also assembled and burnt US, British and Israeli flags in Tehran, Iran.
Friday’s strikes, backed by Australia and other allies, were launched in response to the Houthis’ campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping that began in November. At least five people were killed and six wounded, the Houthis said.
The back-and-forth prompted fresh worries that the airstrikes would fail to deter further Houthi attacks, presenting a new set of challenges for Biden and allies who must decide whether to keep up their attacks – and risk new provocations – or seek some other solution.
Israel has said it won’t let up its military campaign in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ October 7 incursion and massacre of about 1200 people in southern Israel — and a diplomatic solution is unlikely.
Satellite images showed destroyed shelters at Hudaydah airfield in Yemen.Credit: Maxar Technologies /AP
The strikes have brought the world’s attention back to Yemen’s years-long war, which began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014.
A Saudi-led coalition that included the United Arab Emirates intervened to back Yemen’s exiled government in 2015, quickly morphing the conflict into a regional confrontation as Iran backed the Houthis with weapons and other support.
Fighting has slowed in recent years, with the Houthis controlling territory that is home to some two-thirds of Yemen’s 20 million population.
War and misgovernment have made the country one of the poorest in the Arab world. The UN World Food Program considers the vast majority of Yemen’s people to be food-insecure.
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In March, Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated deal to restart relations with Iran in the hope of ultimately withdrawing from the conflict.
However, an overall deal has yet to be reached, likely sparking Saudi Arabia’s expression of “great concern” over the strikes on Friday as it seeks to manage its delicate relationship with Iran.
“While the kingdom stresses the importance of preserving the security and stability of the Red Sea region ... it calls for restraint and avoiding escalation,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Iran condemned the attack in a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.
“Arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region,” he said.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called on nations not to escalate tensions in the Red Sea, while Russia condemned the strikes as “illegitimate from the point of view of international law.”
AP, Bloomberg, Reuters.
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