Houthi Opposition Figure Says It Is Ready to Cooperate With the West Over Red Sea Threat

A figure in the camp opposing the Houthis told Kan News tonight, Monday, that he is prepared to cooperate with regional Western allies to find a solution to the Houthi threat to freedom of movement in the Red Sea. As recalled, the Houthis, who fired at central Israel this morning, continue to threaten freedom of navigation in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The figure, a member of the Southern Transitional Council in southern Yemen, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, said he had been briefed by the Americans that the Houthi rebels were "deterred and busy with internal matters." However, after the fire launched this morning toward central Israel and the threats to attack Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, he stressed that this was "the scenario the council had warned about" when it was pushed out of the area by forces supported by Saudi Arabia.

As noted, this morning the military spokesman for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Yahya Saree, announced a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and threatened that any Israeli target sailing there would be attacked by their forces. Saree said the move comes in response to "Israeli aggression against Lebanon, Iran and Gaza" after taking responsibility for launching "a barrage of missiles toward sensitive targets in occupied Jaffa." He warned that escalation would be met with escalation and that their actions would intensify according to developments. Nasr al-Din Amer, a senior official in the Houthis' political bureau, also threatened to intensify the fight against Israel if it increases its attacks against Iran.

More on this topic, IDF: "Preparing for fighting for several days and even for an extended period". IDF struck in Beirut, Iran threatened to respond: "Only force is understood"