Saudi Arabia 'concerned' over US-UK, Yemen attacks in Red Sea

Saudi Arabia has expressed "grave concern" over the recent US and UK attacks in Yemen, carried out against Houthi-linked sites in the country.

A statement by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "The Kingdom stresses the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region."

The ministry also added: "While the Kingdom stresses the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, in which freedom of navigation is an international demand because it harms the interests of the entire world, it calls for restraint and avoid escalation in light of the events the region is witnessing."

The United States and UK launched attacks on several sites in a number of Yemeni governorates on Thursday, including the capital, Sanaa, and the coastal governorate of Hodeidah, drawing anger in Yemen.

Five fighters were reportedly killed, the group said.

A US defence official said that the attacks involved ships, warplanes and submarines, while President Joe Biden said the attacks were carried in "self-defence" and said he "will not hesitate" to order further military action if needed.

The strikes were reportedly carried out against the Iran-backed group in retaliation for attacks on Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, in protest against Tel Aviv's relentless military onslaught on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians.

The Houthi movement, a Tehran-aligned group that controls much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a Western-backed and Saudi-led coalition, has emerged as a strong backer of the Palestinian cause amid the ongoing Israeli war on the enclave.

The chief negotiator for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said on Thursday the group's attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea do not threaten its peace talks with Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Riyadh denied that foreign forces had landed at King Fahd Air Base in the wake of the Washington and London-led attacks.

The official spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki, said: "There is no truth to what is being circulated about the arrival of foreign forces to King Fahd Air Base in Taif Governorate."

The military spokesman for the Houthis, General Yahya Saree, stressed that the American and British attacks "will not go without response or punishment," while Abdulsalam said that the strikes will not impact the group's "capabilities to continue preventing Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea".