US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed, on Saturday, following joint US-British strikes on 18 Houthi targets, that the Yemeni rebels will continue to face responses to their attacks against ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.

Austin said in a statement, “The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most important waterways.”

He added: "We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks that are harming the economies of the Middle East, causing environmental damage, and disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries."