“We are not at war with the Houthis,” says the United States

The United States is not at war with Yemen's Houthis, the Pentagon said Thursday in a statement detailing its fifth round of attacks against the rebel group in a week.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the US strikes, including the one carried out this Thursday against anti-ship missiles, were purely defensive.

“We are not at war with the Houthis,” highlighted Singh.

“The Houthis are the ones who keep launching cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles at innocent sailors. What we are doing, with our partners, is self-defense,” he argued.

Biden says attacks will continue

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated this Thursday (18) that attacks against the Houthis in Yemen will continue, even if they fail to stop the rebel group's offensive against ships in the Red Sea.

“They [ataques] are they stopping the Houthis? No. Will they continue? Yes,” Biden said before boarding Air Force One, the US Presidential plane, to leave the White House.

US reclassifies Houthis as terrorists

On Wednesday (17), the US reclassified the Houthi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.

“These attacks are a clear example of terrorism, a violation of international law and a major threat to lives and global commerce, putting the provision of humanitarian assistance at risk,” a senior US government official said on Tuesday (16). .

Then, a member of the rebel group's political cabinet stated that they will not stop attacks on ships linked to Israel and the US in the Red and Arabian Seas.

“The operations of our naval forces in the Red and Arabian Seas will continue to target Israeli ships linked to the enemy entity,” he said.

*with information from Reuters