Yemen: We Won’t Backtrack Gaza, US Biggest Threat in Red Sea

By Staff, Agencies

Yemen’s deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Ezzi has censured the latest spate of US and British airstrikes against positions across the country, emphasizing that the United States is the first and foremost threat to international shipping in the Red Sea.

Speaking at a press briefing in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a on Monday, al-Ezzi stated that maritime navigation in the strategic water body is of paramount significance, noting that the Yemeni Armed Forces have time and again declared that international shipping companies are safe to sail their vessels in the area if they are neither Israeli-owned nor destined to ports in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The United States is the first and foremost threat to shipping in the Red Sea, and it was the first party that militarized the region,” al-Ezzi said.

The senior Yemeni official added that his country’s military forces will not hesitate to respond to any act of aggression against their homeland, stressing that US and UK strikes won’t make the Republic of Yemen backtrack on its pro-Palestine stances and solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He also praised Saudi Arabia for its “courageous” position in light of the airstrikes launched by the United States and Britain against several sites in Yemen, stating that Sana’a and Riyadh are on the path towards reconciliation.

Al-Ezzi finally called for protest rallies in the US and Britain in condemnation of attacks against Yemen, extending his gratitude to all parties that have supported Yemeni retaliatory strikes in the Red Sea.