US airstrikes live: Fresh strikes on Houthi anti-ship missiles as America refuses to rule out Iran targets

US conducted fresh strikes against Houthi cruise missiles on 4 February, according to US Central Command.

On X/Twitter, Centcom announced that “on Feb. 4, at approximately 5.30am (Sanaa time), US Central Command forces conducted a strike in self-defense against a Houthi land attack cruise missile.”

It added: “Beginning at 10.30am, US forces struck four anti-ship cruise missiles, all of which were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.”

US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and “determined they presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region”.

“These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”

Britain will hold Iran accountable for attacks by Tehran’s proxies, foreign secretary David Cameron has said, as the UK launched a third wave of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

President Joe Biden has directed further response in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the deaths of three American soldiers, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

“President Biden was clear that what you saw on Friday night in the strikes in Iraq and Syria was the beginning not the end of our response so there will be more steps in the coming days,” Mr Sullivan told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.

Mr Sullivan did not clarify what those responses could look like or when they would occur but said the US was prepared for Tehran to potentially respond directly to the US.

The United States and Britain have struck Iran-backed armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, while Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Hamas in Gaza:

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the military action, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand, “sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels”.

He added: “We will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways.”

The UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain have joined the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, which aims to protect international shipping in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria were inevitable – the question now is how to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from merging into a larger crisis that affects the whole region:

RAF Typhoon aircraft took off to conduct further strikes against Houthi targets on Saturday, 3 February.

The UK has joined the US for a third time in further strikes in a bid to prevent further attacks on international shipping along a major trade route.

Strikes were against Houthi locations in Yemen involved in the campaign targeting the southern Red Sea and the Bab al Mandab, the Ministry of Defence said.

Fresh assaults were “not an escalation” but were designed to “protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea, defence secretary Grant Shapps said.

The United States and Britain have struck Iran-backed armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, while Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Here is what to know about what is happening in the region now, and why:

US ATTACKS ON GROUPS BACKED BY IRAN

On Friday, the U.S. struck Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers at a U.S. base on the Syria-Jordan border. At the same time, Washington emphasized that it doesn’t want to escalate the conflict with Iran into outright war.

WHY THE US IS IN THE REGION

U.S. troops maintain a presence in the area to fight the Islamic State group. They returned to Iraq in 2014 after the extremists overran much of the country’s north and started a genocidal campaign against the Yazidis, a religious minority. U.S. forces are also present in Syria, where they work with Kurdish-led fighters to keep pressure on IS, as well as in Jordan, a long-standing Western ally. The U.S. rushed additional warships to the region after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the start of the war in Gaza to deter Iran and its clients from further escalation.

THE WAR IN GAZA IS AT THE HEART OF IT ALL

All these events are linked to the war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped around 250 that day. Israel responded with an air and ground campaign that has so far killed over 27,000 Palestinians.

STRIKES ON YEMEN’S HOUTHI REBELS OVER RED SEA ATTACKS

Separately, American and British forces have repeatedly struck Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are also backed by Iran. This was in response to persistent Houthi missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

The US response to the attack in Jordan has certainly been stronger and over a wider area than expected. The Pentagon claimed to have hit 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, and the death toll has been at least 10 times that in the original strike. Whether that is a necessary and proportionate response is impossible to judge at this stage. We would, however, tend towards scepticism, given the need for a US president in an election year to look as if he is responding vigorously to threats to American interests around the world.

Read more from The Independent’s editorial: