Red Sea | Houthis agree to truce to rescue oil tanker

(United Nations) Houthi rebels in Yemen have agreed to a “temporary truce” to rescue an oil tanker they attacked that poses a risk of environmental disaster in the Red Sea, the Iranian mission to the UN said on Wednesday.

THE SounionThe Greek-flagged USS Issoudun was hit by projectiles off the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah last week. The Iran-backed Houthis said they hit the ship with drones and missiles.

The Royal Navy-run maritime security agency UKMTO later reported three fires on the ship, while the Houthis posted a video on social media showing what they said were three explosions on the tanker, which is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil.

“Several parties” have asked the Houthis for “a temporary truce to allow the entry of tugboats and rescue vessels into the area” where the tanker is located, the Iranian mission to the UN said.

“Given humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansar Allah [autre nom des rebelles houthis] accepted this request,” she assured.

But the failure to “provide relief and prevent an oil spill in the Black Sea is linked to the negligence of some countries rather than concerns about the risk of being targeted,” the mission added.

The crew of the Sounionconsisting of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued by a ship from the European Union’s Aspides mission.

It also warned last week that the unmanned ship posed “a danger to navigation and the environment.”

The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have been the scene for months of attacks by Yemeni rebels who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is embroiled in a deadly war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.

The Houthis “have already announced that they will continue – as long as the war in Gaza continues – to target oil tankers destined for the Israeli regime in the Red Sea,” the Iranian mission insisted on Wednesday.