AL-MUKALLA: An official with Yemen’s Houthi militia has said that they want to de-escalate tensions with the US over their Red Sea assaults, even as US and UK troops continue to bombard military targets in regions under their control.

Hussein Al-Ezzi, the Houthis’ deputy foreign minister, said on X that the Iran-backed militia has not targeted American or British commercial ships sailing through the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab, or the Gulf of Aden, instead focusing solely on Israel-bound ships to ease tensions with the US.

“Sanaa’s regulations continue to apply solely to ships bound for occupied Palestinian ports. We have not yet incorporated American and British ships heading to other locations due to our goal to minimize the escalation,” Al-Ezzi said.

Al-Ezzi’s remarks contradict inflammatory statements made by militia leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi and other senior militia leaders about their desire to fight the US, Israel, and the UK, as well as threats to strike their ships in the Red Sea and their regional interests.

The Houthi conciliatory remark comes as the US Central Command announced on Tuesday that its forces, along with the British Armed Forces, carried out night strikes on eight targets in Yemeni areas controlled by the Houthis, including missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities.

“These strikes are intended to degrade Houthi capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on US and UK ships as well as international commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden,” the US Central Command said on X.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahiya Sarae said the US and UK militaries launched on Monday 18 airstrikes, including 12 in the capital Sanaa and Sanaa province, three in Hodeidah, two in Taiz, and one in Al-Bayda. “The attacks would not go unpunished,” Sarae said.

At the same time, ballistic missiles and explosives-laden drones have continued to land in civilian areas after missing their objectives in international seas off Yemen’s coast.

On Tuesday, a Houthi missile ripped through a workshop for fixing washing machines and refrigerators in the government-controlled town of Bayhan in the southern province of Shabwa, causing a big explosion and a fire that destroyed the building and frightened people.

Residents in Yemen’s Dhale, Lahj, Abyan, and other areas have recently reported witnessing Houthi missiles and drones strike their villages and houses before reaching their intended targets.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Parliament on Tuesday that his government does not desire a fight with the Houthis but would not hesitate to take greater military action if the Yemeni group continued to assault ships.

“We are not seeking a confrontation. We urge the Houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks … But, if necessary, the United Kingdom will not hesitate to respond again in self-defense,” he said.

UK Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said that in addition to the British Royal Navy’s strikes, the country would impose penalties on the Houthis and use other forms of pressure to get them to cease their assaults in the Red Sea. “What the Houthis are doing is unacceptable, it’s illegal and it’s threatening the freedom of navigation,” Cameron told Sky News.

Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship and targeted dozens of commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab Al-Mandab, enforcing their ban on Israel-linked vessels. The Houthis claim they want to push Israel to break its embargo on Gaza.