David Cameron has vowed Britain will continue striking Houthi rebels in Yemen in order to “degrade their capability” to attack cargo ships in the region.
The foreign secretary said the latest strikes against the Iranian-backed group show Britain “backs our words and warnings with action”.
And the ex-PM warned that strikes against the rebel group will continue if it continues disrupting vessels in the Red Sea.
Lord Cameron said: “Since we last took action 10 days ago, there have been over 12 attacks on shipping by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
“These attacks are illegal, unacceptable and what we’ve done again is send the clearest possible message that we will continue to degrade their ability to carry out these attacks - while sending the clearest possible message that we back our words and our warnings with action.”
His comments came after Britain and the US launched fresh airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Officials say the joint operation by British and American warplanes took out Houthi missile storage sites and launchers, in the second set of coordinated strikes against the Iran-backed militants since they began attacking international shipping in the Red Sea.
Monday night’s strikes were significantly smaller in scale than the first joint US-UK operation 10 days earlier, which hit as many as 60 different targets spanning the length and breadth of Houthi-controlled Yemen.
Despite those major strikes against the group earlier this month, ships have continued to be targeted along the vital Red Sea and Gulf of Aden trade routes. The Houthis initially said they were targeting vessels linked to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians suffering in Gaza, and have since expanded their missile attacks to include British and American ships.
In a joint statement, the governments of the US, UK, Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands said the “precision strikes” were “intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners”.