The Yemeni Houthi rebels took over in the early hours of the morning responsibility for strikes against an American merchant ship which is moving in the Gulf of Aden, the most recent attack by the Iranian-backed movement against international shipping, in a sign of “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which, however, according to Washington, caused no casualties or material damage .

“The navy of the Yemeni armed forces (as the Houthis call their armed arm) conducted a targeted operation against a US ship, the Chem Ranger, in the Gulf of Aden”, firing missiles some of which “hit their target” , the rebels emphasized in a statement.

The Joint Command of the US armed forces responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “Central Command”) confirmed that the Houthis did indeed target a US merchant ship operated by a Greek shipping company yesterday Thursday with “two missiles”, but without to hit the Chem Ranger, as the insurgents claimed.

The crew of the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel “saw missiles falling into the water near the vessel”, however “no injuries or damage to ship reported”who “continued his course”, he emphasized via X (the former Twitter).

According to the same source, this attack, the first launched by the Houthis against commercial ships, took place around 21:00 (Yemen time; 20:00 Greek time).

According to the specialized website Marine Traffic, the Chem Ranger is a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker that has been sailing for the past few days off the coast of Yemen.

For its part, the British Maritime Safety Office (UKMTO) reported an “incident” 115 nautical miles southeast of the city of Aden, stressing that an explosion occurred within 30 meters of a ship and that a drone was flying nearby.

“Retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable” and “any new attack will be punished”, threatened the Yemeni rebels, who assure that they will only target ships going to Israel “as long as a ceasefire is not implemented and the siege is not lifted” in Gaza”.

American bombing

The US hit Houthi positions in Yemen on Thursday — for the fifth time — in retaliation for their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, an area of ​​key importance for international trade.

Washington specifically stated that hit Houthi missiles on the ground that “we believe they were going to be launched immediately” against ships in the Red Sea, explained the spokesman for the National Security Council of the American presidency, John Kirby.

Deputy spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense, Sabrina Singh, said that the bombings, which began late last week and in some cases were carried out with the participation of Britain, had the effect of “destroying much of the capabilities” of the Houthis.

In Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister called on the US to stop the “attack” on Yemen. “The more the Americans and the British bomb, the less the Houthis will be willing to talk,” Sergei Lavrov warned.

Yesterday’s was the second series of bombings in less than 24 hours by the US armed forces to destroy Houthi missiles, which Washington again included yesterday Wednesday in a list of “terrorist” organizations it is drawing up.

US President Joe Biden has reiterated this week that US strikes will continue as long as the Houthis threaten international commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen.

And Denmark on stage

The pro-Iranian movement has attacked dozens of merchant ships it said were “connected to Israel” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since war broke out between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

His attacks forced many shipping companies to suspend their fleets from the Red Sea until further notice. They now send the ships around Africa, passing through the Cape of Good Hope, which increases the time and cost of sea transport.

Last month, the US established a multinational naval coalition to protect international shipping in the Red Sea, a critical sea route through which about 12 percent of world trade passes.

Not all countries in the coalition are participating in the strikes, but Denmark — home to Maersk, the world’s No. 2 shipping company — announced Thursday that it would take part in the operations. France, for its part, has decided not to participate, to “avoid any escalation” in the region, as its president Emmanuel Macron put it.