Aden (South24)

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Today, the member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, held a meeting with the commander of the government naval forces, Lieutenant General Abdullah Al-Nakhaai, in the capital, Aden.

The meeting discussed the readiness of the naval forces and the efforts to develop their combat capabilities to carry out the tasks of maintaining security and navigation in Bab al-Mandab, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, according to the STC's official website.

Al-Zubaidi said on “X” platform: “Our naval forces have the competencies and capabilities that make them able to play a pivotal role in protecting our territorial waters and contributing to enhancing maritime security and protecting international shipping lines, along with the Coast Guard forces and other naval forces in the international coalition".

"We will continue the process of rebuilding it and developing its capabilities until it regains its position and carries out its role to the fullest," he added.

This meeting came a couple of days after Al-Zubaidi met with the US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, to discuss the escalation of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.

Lenderking arrived a few days ago in Saudi Arabia "to discuss regional coordination to protect maritime security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," according to the US State Department.

Related: US moves to mobilize international response to the Houthis 

Last Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman, in a phone call the regional developments of the situation.

“I spoke with the Saudi Defense Minister to discuss Houthi threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and our desire to work with like-minded partners to secure safe passage for global shipping,” Austin said.

Yesterday, the New York Times quoted American officials in Washington and Tel Aviv as saying, "American military strategists have contemplated strikes on Yemen to contain the Houthis."

The two American officials said that the US military has prepared initial targets for the Houthis in Yemen in the event that the Biden administration orders retaliatory strikes, but the Biden administration does not want to risk a broader regional war.

Last Sunday, Houthi naval attacks reached their peak after launching drones and missiles towards commercial ships and a US destroyer in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Related: Houthis attack two commercial ships in Red Sea 

On November 19, the militia hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea. The Yemeni government accuses the Houthis of planning other attacks in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Related: Houthis hijack Israeli-owned ship in Red Sea