CAIRO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Countries in the Middle East expressed grave concern about the security situation in the Red Sea and called for restraint from all parties after joint overnight strikes led by the United States hit Houthi targets in Yemen, in retaliation for attacks on vessels by the Iran-backed militia in the key waterway.
Houthi military spokesman General Yahya Sarea, in a sternly worded statement on Friday, revealed that 73 raids targeted key areas, including the Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah, and Saada.
Five people were killed and six others injured in the attack, said Sarea, stressing the "American-British aggression will not go unanswered and unpunished."
In a defiant response on Friday, the Supreme Political Council, Houthi's top ruling body, declared that "all American and British interests have become legitimate targets."
Sarea reiterated the group's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, emphasizing their commitment to preventing Israeli ships from navigating in the Arabian and Red Seas.
Earlier in the day, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that the United States and its allies have conducted targeted strikes against sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
They were launched together with Britain and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, Biden said in a statement, adding they were "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea."
The strikes came after the UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution to condemn the attacks by the Houthi militia on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, an important international trade route for goods and energy.
The internationally recognized government of Yemen on Friday blamed the Houthi rebel group for "dragging the country into confrontation arena."
In a press statement released by the state-run Saba news agency, it said the strikes on Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas were a response to the rebel group's continued actions of threats to navigation safety in the Red Sea.
Strongly condemning Houthi's recent military operations in international waters, the Yemeni government said the group "misleadingly linking it (its moves) to support for Palestinians."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Friday strongly condemned the military attacks by the United States and Britain on several Yemeni cities.
Kanaani said the attacks were an "arbitrary action and clear violations of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and were carried out in line with the full support of the United States and Britain for Israel's aggression against Palestinians and Gaza.
"Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations in the Red Sea region and the airstrikes that a number of sites in Yemen have been subjected to," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement posted on social media X account on Friday.
The kingdom stressed the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, where the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea should be guaranteed to serve the interests of the world. It called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid escalating the situation.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Friday said the airstrikes are "an aggression" against Yemeni sovereignty. The ministry said it believed that "expanding the attack (in the region) on targets does not represent a solution to the problem, but rather will lead to expanding the scope of the war."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Friday that the United States and Britain launched a disproportionate attack, reflecting "eagerness for turning the Red Sea into a bloodbath."
In a strongly-worded statement Friday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the attack poses a threat to the peace and stability in the Red Sea region and its maritime activities.
The attacks were a "desperate attempt" to divert global public opinion from the Israeli military action in Gaza, it added.
For several weeks, the Houthi group has intensified military operations in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, targeting commercial ships "in connecting with Israel" with armed boats, drones, and sea missiles, in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The Houthis have controlled the capital city of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since ousting the internationally recognized government in 2014. The conflict has drawn in a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government. ■
