Houthis threaten to strike US warships if Yemen targeted

We'll not stand idly by if the Americans are tempted to escalate further, warns Houthi leader

The leader of Yemen's Houthis warned on Wednesday they would strike US warships if the Iranian-backed militia was targeted by Washington, which this week set up a multinational force to counter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control vast amounts of territory in Yemen after years of war, have since last month fired drones and missiles at international vessels sailing through the Red Sea, attacks it says respond to Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

The US-led security initiative will see Washington and nine other, mostly Nato countries patrol the Red Sea to deter and respond to future Houthi attacks that have so far led to major global shipping lines rerouting around Africa instead.

"We will not stand idly by if the Americans are tempted to escalate further and commit foolishness by targeting our country or waging war against it," Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said.

"Any American targeting of our country will be targeted by us, and we will make American battleships, interests, and navigation a target for our missiles, drones, and military operations," he said in a televised speech.

The crisis in the Red Sea has grown out of the war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the latest conflict in the Middle East to pit the US and its allies against regional power Iran and its Arab militia proxies.