'A broader war': Reactions to US, UK strikes against Yemen's Houthis

The United States and Britain have launched strikes against what they said are sites linked to Yemen's Houthi rebels, the first on the country since the Iran-allied rebel group started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year "in solidarity with Palestine."

Friday's strikes marked the first US military response against the Houthis for what has been a persistent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of Israel's war on besieged Gaza.

Here are some of the initial reactions to the strikes:

Hamas

Palestinian group Hamas has said it strongly condemns the US-Britain attack on Yemen.

The group added in a statement that the US and Britain will bear responsibility for their attack's impacts on the security of the region.

Iraq

An advisor to Iraq's prime minister, Fadi Al Shammari, has warned the West is expanding the conflict between Israel and Hamas and increasing tensions in the region, the state news agency (INA) reported.

Russia

Russia strongly condemned the overnight airstrikes by the US and UK on Yemen’s Houthis.

"Our fears have been confirmed that the US position in the UN Security Council on the Red Sea is only a pretext for further escalation of tension in the region. We strongly condemn the actions of the US and its allies," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

According to Zakharova, military escalation in the Red Sea region may negate the positive trends that have emerged recently towards resolution of the Yemen conflict, as well as provoke destabilisation throughout the Middle East region.

"As we warned, to justify their aggression, the Anglo-Saxons are trying to use UN Security Council Resolution 2722, adopted the day before under the pretext of ensuring the safety of navigation in the Red Sea," she emphasized.

Lebanon's Hezbollah

Lebanon's Hezbollah condemns the US-British offensive in Yemen through an official statement.

Yemeni Houthis

Yemen's Houthis spokesperson said there was no justification for the US-Britain attack on Yemen and the group will continue targeting ships heading towards Israel, Mohammed Abdulsalam said.

Houthis official Abdul Qader al Mortada slammed the strikes, saying: "American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen launches several raids on the capital, Sanaa, Hodeidah governorate, Saada, and Dhamar."

"Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines, and warplanes," the Houthis' Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al Ezzi said, according to the group's media.

"America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression," he was quoted as saying.

Iran

Iran reacted strongly to overnight US and UK missile strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, blasting the "arbitrary" attacks, which it said violated Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The bombings constitute a "clear violation" of the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as a "violation of international laws," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a statement.

"While the Zionist regime (Israel) continues its attacks and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, the United States and Britain are trying to expand their umbrella of support for the Zionist regime by diverting the attention of the people of the world from the crimes of this fake, criminal and aggressor regime against the Palestinian people," Kanaani said.

US President Joe Biden

Biden said he would "not hesitate" to direct further measures to protect people and the free flow of commerce.

"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history," Biden said.

"These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation," he said.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

"Today's strikes targeted sites associated with the Houthis' unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities," said Austin.

"This action is intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis' capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade in one of the world's most critical waterways," he said.

UK PM Rishi Sunak

Sunak said in a statement that the strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were "necessary and proportionate."

"Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea," Sunak said.

"We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States... to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping."

Separately, overnight strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen by Britain and the United States were an act of self-defence, British Armed Forces minister James Heappey told Times Radio on Friday.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is following US and British air strikes on neighbouring Yemen with "great concern", a Foreign Ministry statement said, urging against escalation.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations taking place in the Red Sea region and the air strikes on a number of sites in the Republic of Yemen," the statement said, calling for "self-restraint and avoiding escalation".

Japan

Japan supports the US and British allies acting to secure the safe passage of vessels near the Arabian Peninsula, the government's top spokesperson said.

Japan condemns acts by Houthis that violate free passage of ships in the region, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

Australia

Australia was part of the joint strikes targeting multiple Houthi targets inside Yemen, Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed.

"Australia's support of these actions came in the form of personnel in the operational headquarters," Marles told a news conference.

"Australia will continue to support any actions which assert the global rules-based order."

France

France said Houthis were responsible for an escalation in the Middle East after US and British strikes targeted them in Yemen for attacking Red Sea shipping.

"Through these armed actions, the Houthis bear the extremely heavy responsibility for the regional escalation," the foreign ministry said.

It urged the Houthis to "immediately end" these attacks.

Denmark

Denmark, home to shipping company Maersk, fully supports the US and British strikes against Yemen's Houthis, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.

"It will come with a huge bill if the Houthis succeed in forcing international shipping traffic away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. 12 percent of all civilian ships sail through exactly that strait," Rasmussen said.

European Union

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he spoke with Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi on the growing tensions in the Red Sea and the need to preserve freedom of navigation, he said on X.

Jordan

Jordan said Israeli "war crimes" against Palestinians were to blame for heightened regional tension and violence in the Red Sea which it said threatened to ignite a wider war in the Middle East.

"The Israeli aggression on Gaza and its continued committing of war crimes against the Palestinian people and violating international law with impunity are responsible for the rising tensions witnessed in the region," Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.

The stability of the region and its security were closely tied, Safadi said. "The international community is at a humanitarian, moral, legal and security crossroads.

US, UK and other allies

The United States, UK and eight allies said their joint air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen were aimed at restoring "stability in the Red Sea".

"Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea," the governments of the US, UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea said in a joint statement.

"But let our message be clear: we will not hesitate to defend lives and ensure the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways in the face of continued threats."