“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for its criminal aggression against our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” the statement continued. It said it would target sites on land and at sea, in defence of Yemen.
This was in “retaliation for oil theft by the American regime, and [the vessel is] being transferred to the ports of the Islamic Republic for delivery to judicial authorities”.
The USV mobilisation this morning is the first such reported incident using this technology. Previously the Houthis have used unmanned aerial vehicles, small boats and missiles.
The U.S. has classified Yemen’s Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization following a series of attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea and as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Iran in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Saudi Arabian authorities have closed the Port of Jeddah following an explosion at the main tanker anchorage.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a missile attack on Saudi Aramco, but an oil official in the kingdom said the projectiles were intercepted before they could hit their target in the southern Jazan region.