Iran, Russia, Hamas and the Houthi militia’s political representatives criticised the UK and the US for carrying out airstrikes in Yemen. The US and the UK and eight allies carried out joint air strikes on rebel targets in Yemen which killed five people and wounded six.
“The raids led to the death of five martyrs and the injury of six others from our armed forces,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on social media site X. His group also vowed retaliation and said it will not stop targeting ships owned by Israel and headed towards Israeli or Palestinian ports.
They also said that the strikes were unnecessary because they pose no threat to international shipping. “We affirm that there is absolutely no justification for this aggression against Yemen, as there was no threat to international navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas, and the targeting was and will continue to affect Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam said.
Their backer Iran the airstrikes were “arbitrary” and a “violation” of international law. “Tehran strongly condemned the military attacks of the United States and the United Kingdom this morning on several Yemeni cities. (It is) an arbitrary action, a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, and a violation of international laws and regulations,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
Kanani urged the international community to take steps to prevent a wider war in West Asia.
Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas also criticised the airstrikes and vowed ‘repercussions’. It said in a statement that such actions will further challenge the stability of West Asia. “We vigorously condemn the flagrant American-British attack on Yemen. We hold them responsible for the repercussions on regional security,” Gaza rulers Hamas said on Telegram.
Yemen’s neighbour Saudi Arabia is trying to free itself and its resources from a nine-year war with the Houthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations,” a foreign ministry statement said after the US and British strikes. Riyadh called for “self-restraint and avoiding escalation”.
China also took a similar stance and urged all parties to exercise restraint. “China is concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “We urge the relevant parties to keep calm and exercise restraint, to prevent the conflict from expanding,” she added.
The Kremlin harshly criticised the UK and the US for the airstrikes and termed the action “illegitimate”. “We condemn them. From the point of view of international law, they are illegitimate and we (also) have repeatedly called on the Houthis to abandon this practice and consider it extremely wrong,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
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