Oliver Dowden, British Deputy Prime Minister, said on Thursday that Britain will not send ground forces to fight the Houthi group in Yemen, adding that the air strikes have weakened the group allied with Iran.

Since January, the United States and Britain have been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen with air strikes, months after the Houthis attacked commercial and warships in the Red Sea. The Houthis say that the attacks, which caused disruptions in global trade, are a response to Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip.

Dowden said during an interview at the British ambassador’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi: “Let’s be completely frank from the beginning. We have absolutely no plans to send soldiers on the ground.”

He added that the air strikes, which have gained some international support, aim to reduce the Houthis' ability to threaten ships in the Red Sea, not to eliminate the group.

The attacks on shipping traffic in the Red Sea increased the attention directed to the Houthis, who controlled densely populated parts of Yemen a decade ago.

Major shipping lines have largely switched from crossing the Red Sea to taking longer routes around Africa. This increased costs and raised concerns about the rise in the global inflation rate and robbed Egypt of important foreign revenues that it normally earned from sailing cargo ships from the Suez Canal to the Red Sea or vice versa.

Dowden said he was confident that the military strikes were a step to reduce the Houthis' ability to threaten the Red Sea, and were part of broader measures that included imposing sanctions on members of the group.

He added: "We need to tighten the pressure on the Houthis because there is a fundamental commitment from Britain to ensure stability and freedom of trade in goods and movement."

Britain and the United States described their coordinated efforts as enjoying broad international support. Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands and other countries provided some material support to the campaign, but did not participate in air strikes.

But there is no public participation or support from a significant number of London and Washington's closest Arab countries partners in this campaign.

The Houthis remain defiant. Ships in the Red Sea are still being attacked by drones and missiles, and the Houthis are issuing statements that provoke the British and Americans by threatening to target their warships.

The British and American air strikes also occur amid a peace process in Yemen that has no connection to those attacks.

Dowden described the broader regional situation as “fragile and dangerous” and urged all parties to exercise restraint.