by U.S. officials stress Houthi threats to commercial shipping will be stopped
1 of 3 | National security adviser John Kirby speaks to reporters during Tuesday’s afternoon press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C. Kirby said the Biden administration is considering redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organization but no decision has been made. Photo by Ting Shen/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 19 (UPI) — A day after the United States unveiled a new multinational military initiative to counter rising attacks by Houthi militants targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, U.S. officials stressed they and a coalition of partner nations will do whatever it takes to stop the threats.
Speaking at a Tuesday afternoon press briefing at the White House, national security adviser John Kirby said Operation Prosperity Guardian is underway as ships and aircraft “from multiple nations” conduct maritime surveillance and take defensive action to protect commercial ships from Houthi threats.
“From the beginning, we’ve said that this is an international challenge; it requires collective and international action,” Kirby said. “And we’ve been able to bring together now a number of partners, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy … the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, Spain, and even more to address this challenge together.
“But bottom line is: These attacks have to stop,” he said. “They need to stop. They’re unacceptable. The United States and our allies and our partners will do what we have to do to counter these threats and to protect these ships.”
Kirby also pointed out the news Tuesday that the United States and the world’s largest flag states for commercial vessels had issued a joint statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the recent hostile activity by the Houthis.
He also said the Biden administration is considering redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organization but no decision has been made.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have vowed to target all Israel-bound ships traveling in the region in response to what it says is Israel’s “ongoing horrific massacres, genocide and siege against Palestinians in Gaza.”