British and US warships repel largest Houthi attack in Red Sea

The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, suggests further action against the Yemen-based Houthis is on the cards as he says ‘watch this space’

British and US warships have destroyed a barrage of drones and missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in the largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping.

The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, suggested further military action was on the cards, saying that the attacks cannot continue and that the UK “won’t allow” them to. He concluded: “Watch this space.”

The Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond and three American destroyers backed by fighter jets shot down 18 drones and three missiles as dozens of ships moved towards the Suez Canal, according to the US military’s Central Command. Mr Shapps said that he believed HMS Diamond itself had been targeted and had “performed incredibly well”. The warship is said to have shot down seven drones. Mr Shapps described the Houthi barrage as “a significant moment” and an “escalation”.

The attack was the 26th by the Houthis since mid-November, with shipping companies having been forced to divert or halt vessels travelling through what is a key trade route. Between 12-15 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea.

The Houthis have claimed that it is targeting ships linked to Israel in response to the war on Hamas inside Gaza. After this latest attack, a Houthi spokesman claimed the group had targeted a US vessel because it was providing support to Israel.

The Houthis are one of a number of Iran-backed militant groups in the region, including Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Mr Shapps pointed the finger at Tehran for the attacks. “Be in no doubt at all Iran is guiding what is happening there in the Red Sea, providing them not just with equipment to carry out those attacks but also often with the eyes and ears to allow those attacks to happen,” Mr Shapps told Sky News.

Western officials last month claimed that an Iranian surveillance ship, MV Behshad, has been providing real-time intelligence for some of the attacks.

“We must be clear with the Houthis, that this has to stop and that is my simple message to them today and watch this space,” Mr Shapps added.

US, French and British warships have been stationed in the Red Sea since December as part of a multinational coalition – named Operation Prosperity Guardian – aimed at keeping the trade route safe. Whitehall estimates based on shipping industry forecasts suggest that the impact of continued disruption could lead to a 0.2-0.5 per cent increase in inflation.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Shapps said the HMS Diamond had destroyed the drones using Sea Viper missiles, worth £1m each, and guns, adding that there were no injuries or damages.

The assault happened off the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, on the western coastline roughly 140 miles from the capital Sanaa, according to the private intelligence firm Ambrey. In the Hodeida incident, Ambrey said ships described over radio seeing missiles and drones, with US-allied warships in the area urging “vessels to proceed at maximum speed”.

Off Mokha, ships saw missiles fired, a drone in the air and small vessels trailing them, Ambrey said early on Wednesday. The British military’s United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations also acknowledged the incident off Hodeida.

HMS Diamond fires Sea Viper missiles in the Red Sea on Wednesday (Ministry of Defence/PA)

It is unclear what form further military action against the Houthis might take from the UK, US and allies, but there have been suggestions that it may involve strikes on Houthi command centres in Yemen. Last week a joint statement from the UK, US, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore – all part of Operation Prosperity Guardian – warned the Houthis that further attacks would not be tolerated.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking in Bahrain, said: “I’m not going to telegraph or preview anything that might happen.

“All I can tell you again, we’ve made clear – we’ve been clear with more than 20 other countries – that if this continues, as it did yesterday, there will be consequences. And I’m going to leave it at that,” he told reporters.

Crew on the HMS Diamond preparing to fire in the Red Sea (Ministry of Defence/PA)

Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “I am not going to speculate about how we will or will not respond to continued attacks.

“We do reserve the right to take further steps to protect commercial shipping and avoid the risk of further destabilising the region. That is something we will keep under review.”

A UN Security Council resolution condemning the Houthi actions, but not authorising the use of force, was expected to be passed in New York later on Wednesday.

The US draft resolution before the UNSC says the Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce “and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security”.

The resolution also demands the immediate release of the first ship the Houthis attacked, the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company, which it seized in November, along with its crew.