The Houthis assured that they do not intend to to expand their attacks on ships in the Red Seaand around her, beyond “their stated goals of isolating Israel and retaliating against US and British airstrikes.”

In an interview with ReutersRepresentative Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is also lead Houthi negotiators in peace talks on the civil war that has raged in the country for more than a decadehe said how the group has no plans to target its longtime enemies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“We don’t want the escalation to widen. That is not our request. We imposed rules of engagement on which not a drop of blood was shed and there were no great material losses”, Abdulslam said. “It was pressure only on Israel, it wasn’t pressure on any country in the world.”

The Houthisallies of Iran, who control most of Yemen’s populated areas, have been attacking ships at the mouth of the Red Sea since Octoberin what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians by targeting ships connected to Israel.

“What the Yemeni people did at first was to target Israeli ships heading to Israel without causing any human or even (any) significant material lossessimply preventing ships from passing as a natural right,” Abdulsalam said.

“Now when America got involved and escalated the situation further, there is no doubt that Yemen will respond”he said.

Houthi attacks forced international shipping companies to reroute trade between Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope, adding time and cost. The United States and Britain bombed Houthi targets last week in what they called an intervention to keep one of the busiest sea routes open.

“We don’t want the conflict to expand into the region and we don’t prefer that, and we’re still working on de-escalation, but the decision rests with the Americans, as long as they continue to attack,” Abdulsalam argued.

“Yemen is dealing with the responseand is interested in asserting or maintaining its position by preventing Israeli ships from heading towards the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The conflict in the Red Sea is one of those in which armed organizations are involved backed by Iran in the Middle East and have escalated since October, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, sparking an Israeli offensive that has been ravaging the Gaza Strip ever since.

Washington blames Tehran – which leads an “Axis of Resistance” that includes Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and groups in Syria – that it is trying to expand the conflict across the region.

Among other flash points, Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire on the borderwhile pro-Iranian paramilitaries have attacked bases where US troops are stationed in Iraq.

The Houthismountain fighters who seized the Yemeni capital a decade ago, they maintain control through a multi-year war against the powers in the region, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, now in a sensitive phase of peace talks.

“We find no justification for taking any action against themand we call on them to reject the militarization of the Red Sea or the presence of military forces within the region,” Abdulsalam said of the Gulf Arab powers.

Abdulsalam said the Houthis have made their own decisions in the conflict and they don’t take orders from Tehran, although they maintain a close relationship. “We have not received any comment from the Iranians so far. We don’t know if they will inform us later,” he said. “Yemen is dealing with the response, and it is dealing with confirming or remaining firm in its position of preventing Israeli ships from going to the occupied Palestinian territories.”