UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while updating Parliament on the latest US-UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, said they took "extensive steps" before taking military action this month, "urging the Houthis to desist". The US and UK hit eight targets overnight, following another set of raids earlier this month. He said the UK and US acted "in line with international law, in self defense, and in response to an immediate threat" The UK said the Houthis have launched 12 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in the past 10 days. The Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting ships they say are linked to Israel and the West. Iran's foreign minister said the country has warned the US that their strikes in Yemen are a "strategic mistake" And the Houthis called the US and UK the "guardian of Israeli destruction", and vowed to retaliate. This was the second joint US-UK operation against the group. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was not informed in advance about the strikes. Sunak said in the Parliament that the internationally recognized government of Yemen has also criticized the Houthis. He said it is keen to see the attacks brought to an end, and he wants to talk about a wider response to the crisis. He said that, since he updated MPs last week, the government has seen "further evidence that [the strikes] were successful in degrading the Houthis' military capability". He said the strikes last night target two military targets north of Yemeni capital Sanaa. "I want to be very clear — we are not seeking confrontation," he said. Sunak added the Houthis continue to pose an ongoing and immediate threat to commercial shipping and the UK's partners. He went on to say he told the House of Commons last week the UK would not hesitate to respond to further threats. "We acted in line with international law, in self defense, and in response to an immediate threat," he said, adding the targets were carefully selected. Sunak, speaking on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, said US President Biden shared his concerns over the loss of life in Gaza and that the UK is working to establish new aid routes. He said he wants the fighting to end as soon as possible and urges Hamas to release all the hostages. We are also united in the need for a two-state solution, he added. Labour leader Starmer thanked Sunak for an advance copy of his speech. "Let me be clear, we back this targeted action to reinforce maritime security in the Red Sea," he said. "Houthi attacks must stop, we must stand united and strong." Starmer asked: What work is being done to enlarge the coalition of countries supporting the strikes? He also wanted to know how the UK is helping the people of Yemen who he said have suffered terribly. The Labour leader wanted to know if the government will be proscribing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards — the IRGC — set up over 40 years ago to defend Iran's Islamic revolution and now one of the most powerful paramilitary organizations in the Middle East. Starmer noted that this was the second set of strikes that the UK has participated in, and that the Houthi attacks have continued since the first. "It is right that the House [of Commons] hears more about [the air strikes'] effectiveness," he said. Starmer rejected claims the Houthi attacks are linked to the conflict in Gaza and said there needs to be a sustainable ceasefire and a decisive step to a two-state solution. "Palestinian statehood not in the gift of a neighbor, but an inalienable right," he said. House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said MPs "must be informed at the earliest opportunity" of any action against the Houthis and must also be told if the strikes are part of "continuous action" in the region. But the Speaker did not say whether there should be a vote in the Commons to approve further action. Sir Lindsay also said he had not been told about last night's strikes in Yemen ahead of time — as he was when the UK launched the first strikes against the Houthis — and instead received a phone call "as the operation was taking place". — BBC
