By Al-Fassel and AFP | 2023-11-29

TOKYO -- G7 foreign ministers on Wednesday (November 29) called on the Iran-backed Houthis to cease threats to international shipping and to release a vessel they seized earlier this month.

"Emphasizing the importance of maritime security, we call on all parties not to threaten or interfere with lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by all vessels," a statement released by G7 chair Japan read.

"We especially call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on November 19," it added.

The Houthis have launched a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel since Hamas staged a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping more than 200.

Armed assailants on November 26 seized a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden in a "piracy related incident," according to Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

After the USS Mason responded to a distress call from the M/V Central Park, with allied ships and aircraft from a multinational counter-piracy task force, two ballistic missiles were launched from an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.

The missiles landed about 10 nautical miles from the USS Mason and Central Park without causing damage to the ships, Ryder said Monday, declining to speculate on whether the two incidents were linked.

When the USS Mason arrived at the scene, "five armed individuals... attempted to flee via their small boat," he said. "The Mason pursued the attackers, resulting in their eventual surrender."

"Initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali," he added.

String of attacks

A few days earlier, on November 24, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected drone attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Indian Ocean, a US defense official said.

"We are aware of reports that there was a suspected IRGC-initiated Shahed-136 drone (that) struck a civilian motor vessel in the Indian Ocean," the official said.

The same day, the Houthis had cautioned a tanker southwest of al-Hodeidah "to change course and warned that an attack would follow if they did not follow the instructions," global maritime risk management firm Ambrey said.

Iran supports the Houthis and its other proxy groups in the region with funding, weapons and training.

The G7 had on November 8 called on Iran to "refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilize the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hizbullah and other non-state actors."

Iran rejected the call.

On November 19, the Houthis seized Israeli-linked cargo vessel the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew at the entrance to the Red Sea.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi November 14 announced that his group was on the lookout for Israeli vessels in the Red Sea -- even those that did not have Israeli flags.

"Our eyes are open to constant monitoring and searching for any Israeli ship," he said in a speech broadcast by the group's Al-Masirah TV station.