Thursday, January 11, 2024 – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for an emergency cabinet meeting tonight with ministers plotting airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
According to Mail Online, UK aircraft and Navy ships could
take part in the strikes alongside the US.
A Cobra meeting between senior ministers was held earlier
this morning with members of the National Security Council holding discussions
tonight.
Mr Sunak is expected to brief his cabinet team about the
planned strikes during this evening's meeting which is scheduled to take place
at 7.45pm.
Talk of a joint attack by the US and UK on the Houthi rebels
has heightened in recent days as they continue to target shipping in the Red
Sea.
Another Royal Navy warship was en route to the Red Sea
yesterday amid warnings the West is 'almost certain' to launch strikes on
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond left Gibraltar amid a build up
of forces in the region between Africa and Arabia.
Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, said that the
UK and US has to show that 'enough is enough' after drones and missiles
launched from the Arabian state were shot down by HMS Diamond and American
warships.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last night
warned of 'consequences' if the Houthis continue and called
on Iran to end their support for the rebels.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps also said there was 'no
doubt' Tehran was involved and providing weapons and intelligence for attacks
linked to the Israeli military assault in Gaza, telling Sky News: 'Watch this
space'.
Speaking to Talk TV, Lord West said: 'I think we're in a
position now where we can't just sit there shooting down missiles, ballistic
missiles, cruise missiles, drones being fired at our warships but also at
peaceful merchant ships, most of which have nothing to do with Israel at all
and we can't just sit there letting them take pot shots, shooting them down at
immense cost… we've got to make it clear to them that this is not allowed.
'They can't disrupt world trade in this way and I think the
answer is, in self defence terms, if someone fires missiles at you from a site,
that site is perfectly valid as a target for you and I think probably using the
USS Eisenhower… we can carry out attacks on the sites within Yemen.'
Mr Shapps warned Houthi rebels to end their attacks on
commercial shipping in the Red Sea after British and American warships were
forced to repel a huge wave of missiles and drones from the Iran-backed
militants.
HMS Diamond shot down the targets with a barrage of Sea
Viper missiles - which travel three times the speed of sound. The US Navy shot
down 21 Houthi missiles and drones and US fighter jets were also involved in
the operation.
Mr Shapps told Sky News: 'We must be clear with the
Houthis that this has to stop and that is my simple message to them today:
Watch this space'.
He also told reporters: 'My understanding is that both the
ship itself potentially was targeted... but also that there's a generalised
attack on all shipping (in the region).'
Mr Shapps called the Houthi attack 'the largest to
date' and said the UK had taken action to 'protect innocent lives and the
global economy'. He said none of HMS Diamond's crew had been injured.
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