US military destroys Houthi antiship missile after oil tanker attack

US says missile presented an ‘imminent threat’ to merchant ship and US Navy vessels in the region.

The United States military says it destroyed a Houthi antiship missile in Yemen that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch after the Iran-aligned group attacked a British oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The missile “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”, the US Central Command said on Saturday in a statement on X.

The Houthi group has launched drones and missiles at shipping in the Red Sea since November 19 in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

The US attack followed a strike by the Houthi rebels on a British fuel tanker on Friday evening.