Britain could join possible US air strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to protect Red Sea shipping, top US military figure David Petraeus said on Tuesday.
His comments came after Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the Government would not hesitate to take “further action” to prevent more attacks by the Houthis, whose Iranian backers are accused of intensifying their regional meddling since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza started on October 7.
The Red Sea attacks have continued despite the launch last month of a US-led taskforce, joined by Britain’s HMS Diamond, to protect freighters in the crucial trading route south of the Suez Canal.
The Standard’s Defence Editor Robert Fox reported last month that US and British military chiefs had been surprised by both the amount and technological capability of the weaponry used by the Houthis, and General Petraeus said a more hard-hitting response could be in the offing.
“That’s been in conversation according to folks that I’ve discussed this with in Washington, including some UK officials who are here,” General Petraeus told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, asked about the potential for UK and US air strikes on the Houthis.
Other options would involve taking out the fast boats used by the Houthis in their attempts to seize tankers in the Red Sea, said the retired official, who used to head the CIA as well as US armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“But I think it’s very understandable to be wary of the possibility of escalation,” he stressed, after one incident in which the US Navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.
“Keep in mind here as well that this is a case in which our friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are very, very worried and concerned because they’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to get a ceasefire in the Yemeni civil war between the Houthis and the elements that are supported by the Saudis, and they don’t want to see that unravel.”
A Government spokesman said: “As you would expect, while planning is underway for a range of scenarios, no decisions have yet been made and we continue to pursue all diplomatic routes.
“We call for the Iranian-backed Houthi to cease these illegal attacks and we are working with allies and partners to protect freedom of navigation.”
HMS Diamond last month brought down an attack drone that was targeting targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea - the first time that the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger in more than 30 years.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Shapps said: “The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: We are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.”
But General Petraeus’ warning about regional spillover underlined the high stakes at play with Iran accused of fomenting anti-Israel violence since the October attacks by Hamas.
The Israeli military announced plans to pull back some of its thousands of troops deployed in Gaza, signalling a new, possibly less intense phase in the offensive after mounting US concerns about the high death toll suffered by Palestinian civilians.
An Israeli official said the troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life after concerns about the impact of the mobilisation on Israel’s economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
The Government meanwhile announced the arrival of 87 tonnes of “life-saving UK and Cypriot aid for the people of Gaza” delivered by Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship Lyme Bay to Egypt from Cyprus.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “Significantly more aid needs to reach Gaza to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. The UK will continue to work with our partners in the region to open more aid routes into Gaza, including through the proposed maritime corridor between Cyprus and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
