The US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, said on Thursday that Washington wants to form the “broadest possible naval coalition” to protect ships in the Red Sea and send an “important signal” to the Houthi militia that further attacks will not be tolerated.

Reuters quoted the American envoy as saying that the United States aims to expand the current international maritime task force to become “an international coalition that allocates some resources to protect freedom of navigation.”

Lenderking confirmed that his country was conducting a very active assessment of the necessary steps to get the Houthis to stop the escalation, without disclosing the countries that Washington had contacted to join the expanded coalition.