Defence Secretary says Iran must tell Houthi rebels to call off their attacks on shipping
The UK's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has demanded that Tehran tell Houthi rebels to call off their attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Shapps called on Iran to de-escalate the situation between the West and Houthi rebels responsible for launching attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
He said Iran must tell the rebels to "cease and desist" to prevent further conflict from taking place.
When asked what his message to Iran would be, Mr Shapps said: "You must get the Houthi rebels, others who are acting as proxies for you, Lebanese Hezbollah are obvious examples, [and] some in Iraq and Syria, you must get these different organisations to cease and desist because we are, the world is, running out of patience.
"We see you; we see through what you're doing.
"We see how you're doing it, particularly the Houthi rebels, and no good can come from it."
His words have echoed those of the Prime Minister who said that there would be reprisals if the rebel attacks continued.
Rishi Sunak said: "This type of behaviour can't be met without a response.
"We need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong.
"People can't act like this with impunity."
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