Yemen’s Houthi-led government has rejected US claims that it was behind a drone attack on the MV Saibaba, a Gabonese-owned, Indian flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea on Saturday.
Around 25 Indian crew members were reportedly present on the vessel when the incident took place.
According to a statement by Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam on social media on Sunday evening, an American warship “hysterically” opened fire at a Yemeni reconnaissance plane which was carrying out an exploratory mission over the Red Sea.
Abdulsalam stated that one of the missiles exploded near MV Saibaba.
The Houthi government spokesman warned that the Red Sea would be a “burning arena if the US continued its bullying”.
He said that the vessel was travelling from Russia and sailing southwards when the American missile landed near it.
Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, accused the American warships of threatening international shipping lines for shielding Israel.
Al-Houthi suggested that the “ideal solution” to resolve the maritime security situation in the Red Sea would be that the US warships returned home.
The rebuttal by Yemeni officials came hours after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that MV Saibaba was hit by a Houthi drone on Saturday evening.
The CENTCOM alleged that USS Laboon, part of the Washington-led naval taskforce Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG), responded to “distress calls” by two merchant vessels, including MV Saibaba.
The US alleged that another oil tanker, a Norwegian-flagged vessel, reported a “near-miss” due to the Houthi attack.