Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that “no matter what your views are on Gaza, there’s no justification for this ongoing [Houthi] attack on international shipping… We would like to see Iran exert the influence that it has, because it’s the primary supplier to the Houthis of weapons, of information, of technology… Meanwhile, we and other countries have no choice but to try to defend the shipping and, as necessary, degrade the assets – the military assets – that the Houthis are using to continue to attack shipping”. Blinken further noted that “we have a lot of pressure that’s imposed on them [ie, Iran] by us and by many other countries, including through sanctions”, adding: “The extent to which Iran is seen as being responsible for [the Houthi attacks] – I don’t think that’s good for Iran”.