"The Houthis acted wisely by staying out of the conflict throughout. Now it appears that Iran has drawn them into it," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the remarks to journalists on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, APA reports.
According to Rubio, the Houthis are now targeting Saudi Arabia and Saudi-owned vessels.
"They are targeting Saudi Arabia, as well as its ships," the U.S. Secretary of State stressed.
Rubio noted that reports emerging a few hours earlier referred to a Saudi-owned fuel tanker sailing under the Chinese flag.
"That is a Chinese ship. If they strike it as well, it will become China's problem. It will become a problem for the whole world," he said.
The U.S. Secretary of State expressed hope that the situation would be de-escalated and that the Houthis would refrain from such actions.
"They did the right thing by staying out of it. They should continue to stay out and stop these actions," Rubio said.
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