Israel’s government said on Sunday that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, endangering a key global shipping route.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office condemned the seizure of what it said was a vessel owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese firm, without naming either of those. There were no Israelis among the ship’s 25 crew members, it said.
Read more: Who Are Yemen’s Houthis? Can They Strike Israel? QuickTake
“This is another act of Iranian terrorism which expresses a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, and creates international implications regarding the security of global shipping lanes,” Netanyahu’s office said in a written statement.
Iran hasn’t commented on the incident.
