US-UK attack on Yemen 'imminent' - Media

On Thursday evening, several media outlets, citing anonymous sources, said that the British and American governments have decided to launch airstrikes and missile strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels in an attempt to open the Red Sea.

According to Bloomberg, British Chancellor Rishi Sunak "approved a joint military strike with the United States" and received Cabinet approval. Earlier in the day, The Times reported that a strike was "probably imminent" by late Friday.

The BBC reported that two British destroyers, the destroyer HMS Diamond and the frigate HMS Lancaster, are currently in the area, and the frigate HMS Richmond is also en route. The Times reported that the US-led coalition would attack Houthi rebel bases and craft with ships and fighter jets.

Neither 10 Downing Street nor the White House has yet issued an official statement. Scottish First Minister Humzah Yousaf expressed concern at the move, but warned there were "no good signs of military intervention in the Middle East" from the UK. He called on Sunak to recall parliament and allow lawmakers to "discuss and investigate any decision to take military action" proposed by the government.

The Houthis launched more than 20 missiles and drones into the Red Sea on Tuesday, which they claimed were shot down by the US-led navy. After Tuesday's incident, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: "We must act because we cannot have a situation where vital sea routes - a vital way of transporting goods around the world - are blocked by terrorists and criminals ".

The Shiite group that controls Yemen's capital said on Thursday it was not afraid of the West. "We will respond to any attack by the United States," Houthi rebel spokesman Abdulsalam Zahaf X wrote (previously on Twitter). "We will kneel against America at all costs and burn the warships, all her bases and all who collaborate with them."

Zahaf added: "I promise that if we become atoms scattered in the air, we will not leave Gaza and will continue to attack Zionist ships." "The world must prepare to hear America defeated, and I am proud to say this: We will trample America under our feet, and those who do not know us will know our strength and power on the battlefield."

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah ("Supporters of God"), declared their solidarity with the Gaza Strip in late October in response to Israel's offensive against the Palestinian enclaves. West Jerusalem vowed to "destroy" Hamas after Palestinian militants captured a nearby Israeli village on October 7 and killed nearly 1,200 Israelis. More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to local pro-Hamas authorities.