Italy’s foreign minister says not intimidated by Houthi threats
ROME (AA) – Italy would not be intimidated by threats from Yemen’s Houthis and will respond to their attacks, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said.
“We defend mercantile ships’ traffic. We don’t attack anybody, but we don’t want anybody to attack us,” he told reporters at the sidelines of an event in Rome. “There is free maritime circulation. If there are attacks, we will respond by defending Italian mercantile ships,” he added.
“We won’t be intimidated by any statement by the Houthis, which are a terrorist organization,” said Tajani.
The comments came after Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, leader of the Yemeni group, told Italian daily La Repubblica that Italy must be neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea bound for Israel since November. They say their attacks aim to put pressure on Israel to halt its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip. However, the US and the UK have launched retaliatory airstrikes against targets inside Yemen.
The Red Sea is one of the world’s most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.
Italy has said it will provide the admiral in command of a EU Red Sea naval mission, which will be launched this month to protect ships from attacks by Houthi militias.
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