David Cameron calls on Iran to stop supplying Houthi rebels with weapons

Foreign Secretary David Cameron has called on Iran to stop supplying weapons to Houthi rebels and to use its influence to prevent further attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Lord Cameron, who met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the World Economic Forum, also condemned Tehran’s attacks in Erbil, Iraq, which killed UK-Iraqi dual national Karam Mikhael.

“Iran must cease supplying the Houthis with weapons and intelligence and use its influence to stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea,” Lord Cameron wrote in a statement posted on X.

“Iran must also stop using the regional situation as cover to act recklessly and violate others’ sovereignty. I made this clear to [the foreign minister].”

The US, which relisted the Houthi group as a global terrorist organisation on Wednesday, has also strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to them.

On Thursday, a US raid intercepted ballistic missile parts Washington said Iran was shipping to Yemen.

Earlier this week, Iran launched air strikes on targets across Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, prompting condemnation by the US.

Meanwhile, the US says it has conducted a fresh round of strikes on 14 Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired from Yemen.

The strikes, which are the fourth since US-led military began their operation, were launched from the Red Sea and hit more than a dozen sites, officials told the Associated Press.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency claimed US and British aircraft had targeted the areas Hodeidah, Taiz, Dhamar, al Bayda and Saada.

US Central Command said in a statement posted on X that the Houthi missiles presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region.

It came after Houthi rebels targeted M/V Genco Picardy, a US-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

The group said they hit the bulk carrier with missiles which resulted in a “direct hit”. The US said the vessel was hit by a drone, adding there were no injuries and some damage reported in the attack.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and have threatened to expand their attacks to include US ships in response to American and British strikes from last week.