Houthis seek worldwide publicity, embrace 'Iran's Axis of Resistance' as 'broader regional strategy'

The chief negotiator for Yemen's Houthis said on Monday the group's stance has not changed since US-led air strikes on its positions, and warned that attacks on ships headed to Israel will continue. He said the group was still demanding an end of the war in Gaza, and humanitarian aid deliveries to the north and south of the Gaza Strip. "We do not want escalation in the Red and Arabian Seas," Abdulsalam said. It was the United States and Britain that were militarizing the Red Sea with their warships, he added. "Our communication ... continues to clarify our position, and confirm that all commercial ships in the Red and Arabian Seas are safe, with the exception of Israeli ships or those heading to Israel, only and only," he said. Israel has regularly denied having links to vessels that have come under attack in the Red Sea, and several international shipping lines have paused deliveries or switched to longer, most costly routes. "Our position comes from religious, moral and humanitarian principles ... as well as in response to the calls of the people of Palestine ... to support the oppressed in the Gaza Strip," Abdulsalam said. The Houthi movement controls much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a U.S.-backed and Saudi-led coalition. As Houthis vow to keep up Red Sea attacks, FRANCE 24's Rochelle Ferguson-Bouyahi is joined by Elisabeth Kendall, The Mistress of Girton College, University of Cambridge and Board Member of the Centre of Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge.