SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's Iran-backed Huthis said Friday that US and British interests were "legitimate targets" after the Western allies launched deadly strikes following weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The barrage of strikes early on Friday against the Huthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading across the region.
Violence involving Iran-aligned groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the war in Gaza began in early October.
Britain, the United States and eight allies said the strikes aimed to "de-escalate tensions". But Iran and other governments condemned the Western action or warned that unrest could worsen.
The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting on the strikes on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Huthis immediately stop their attacks on ships.
Oil prices rose four percent on fears of an escalation before falling back.
The Huthis have intensified attacks on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea -- through which 12 percent of global maritime trade normally passes -- since Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war on October 7.
The rebels have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of an Iran-backed "axis of resistance" against Israel and its allies.
"All American-British interests have become legitimate targets" for the Huthis following the strikes, the rebels' Supreme Political Council said.
Hussein al-Ezzi, the rebels' deputy foreign minister, said the United States and Britain must "prepare to pay a heavy price".
The Huthis fired "at least one" anti-ship ballistic missile in retaliation on Friday that caused no damage, according to US General Douglas Sims.
'Strong signal'
US President Joe Biden called the strikes a successful "defensive action" after the "unprecedented" Red Sea attacks, and said he would act again if the Huthis continued their "outrageous behaviour".
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Huthis' breach of international law warranted the "strong signal", with his government publishing its legal position justifying the strikes as lawful and "proportionate".
Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, said the Western strikes will fuel "insecurity and instability in the region" while "diverting" attention from Gaza.
Hamas said it will hold Britain and the United States "responsible for the repercussions on regional security".
But the White House said the United States did not seek conflict with Iran, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby telling MSNBC there was "no reason" for an escalation.
Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen's capital Sanaa in protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags and holding portraits of Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi, an AFP journalist reported.
"Death to America, death to Israel," they chanted.
In Tehran, hundreds rallied against the United States, Britain and Israel, burning the three countries' flags outside the UK embassy while voicing support for Gazans and Yemenis, an AFP reporter saw.
Red Sea 'bloodbath'
In Gaza, Palestinians lauded Huthi support and condemned Britain and the United States.
"No one is standing with us but Yemen," said Fouad al-Ghalaini, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left homeless by Israel's bombardment of Gaza City.
"When Yemen decided to take action to stand with the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza, they fought it and allied against it."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and said: "It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath."
Saudi Arabia said it "is following with great concern the military operations" and called for "self-restraint and avoiding escalation".
The kingdom is trying to extricate itself from a nine-year war with the Huthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all sides "not to escalate" in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
International trade disrupted
Friday's strikes targeted an airbase, airports and a military camp, according to the Huthis' Al-Masirah television.
The United States and Britain targeted nearly 30 locations using more than 150 munitions, Sims said, updating earlier figures, and Biden said he did not believe there were civilian casualties.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the strikes "targeted sites associated with the Huthis' unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities".
Britain's defence ministry said four Typhoon aircraft hit a site in Bani in northwestern Yemen, used to launch attack drones, and an airfield in Abbs from where cruise missiles and drones were operated over the Red Sea.
Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree reported at least five deaths.
The action aimed to send a "strong message" to Iran, which is trying to surround Israel in a "ring of instability" through regional proxies, said Melanie Garson, an associate professor in international conflict resolution at University College London.
But as the rebels have weathered years of air raids by a Saudi-led coalition, hitting them will have little impact and only raise their standing in the Arab world, Gerald Feierstein, an ex-US ambassador to Yemen, said before the strikes.
Major shipping firms have rerouted their cargoes around the tip of Africa, hitting trade flows at a time when supply strains are putting upward pressure on inflation worldwide.
Since mid-November, the volume of shipping containers transiting through the Red Sea has dropped by 70 percent, according to maritime experts.
Denmark's Torm on Friday became the latest tanker firm to halt transit through the southern Red Sea.
Dryad Global, a maritime security risk group, advised its clients to suspend Red Sea operations for 72 hours, citing the threat of Huthi retaliation.