British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said escalating attacks by Iran-backed groups could not be tolerated.
The United States has announced it has shot down four drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen, as the United Kingdom's top diplomat described the rebel group's ally Iran as a “malign influence.”
The guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon shot down the drones as they flew towards the ship and there were no injuries or damage, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
The USS Laboon also responded to distress calls from a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker and an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker that were under attack.
“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks by Houthi militants on commercial shipping since October 17,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
According to CENTCOM, the Houthis also fired two anti-ship missiles at international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea, but no ships were hit in the attacks.
Separately, the US Defense Department said a drone launched by Iran hit a Liberia-flagged Japanese chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean early Saturday.
No casualties were reported.
Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency said earlier that a drone exploded near a ship in the Bab el-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis, who control large swaths of Yemen, have waged an escalating campaign of drone and rocket attacks on commercial vessels since the war began in Gaza, in what the rebel group says is a show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment.
The United States on Tuesday launched a multinational security force called Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect shipping from escalating attacks in the waterway, one of the world's busiest trade routes.
The latest attacks came as British Foreign Secretary David Cameron condemned Iran for supporting the Houthis and other armed groups.
In an interview published in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Cameron said Tehran had exercised a “thoroughly malign influence in the region and the world.”
“There are the Houthis, there is Hezbollah, there are the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq who have actually attacked British and American bases and troops. And of course Hamas,” said the former British prime minister.
“So you have all these proxies, and I think it's incredibly important that Iran, first of all, gets an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated.”
Cameron's comments follow claims from the US White House that Iran is “heavily involved in attacks” by Houthi rebels on merchant vessels in the Red Sea.
Tehran has admitted to politically supporting the Houthis but denied arming the group.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri on Saturday rejected allegations that Tehran had provided the Houthis with weapons and intelligence, saying the rebel group had “its own tools” and acted “in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities.”