Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the US and the UK strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, on Jan 14, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

SANAA/ADEN/TEHRAN - Yemen's Houthi group on Friday claimed responsibility for launching a missile attack on a US ship in the Gulf of Aden.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces (Houthis) carried out an attack targeting US ship (Chem Ranger) in the Gulf of Aden with several appropriate naval missiles, and the hit was accurate," Yahya Sarea, Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement broadcast by the group's al-Masirah TV.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that a retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable and that any new aggression will not go unpunished," the spokesman said.

In a statement on Thursday, the US Central Command said that the US Navy forces stationing in the Red Sea conducted defensive strikes on two Houthi antiship missiles that were aimed into the southern Red Sea

The attacks "will continue until a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip is imposed, and the siege is lifted," Sarea said, adding that their escalation comes in support of the Palestinians.

In a statement on Thursday, the US Central Command said that the US Navy forces stationing in the Red Sea conducted defensive strikes on two Houthi antiship missiles that were aimed into the southern Red Sea.

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US President Joe Biden on Thursday said his administration returned the Houthi armed group to the "terrorist" list, and the decision will take effect next month if the Houthis don't stop threatening the shipping lines.

In response, Houthi chief of negotiators Mohammed Abdulsalam denounced the re-designation of his group as for "political purposes".

Meanwhile, at least four people were killed in a major Houthi offensive in Yemen's southeastern oil-rich province of Shabwa on Thursday, a local official told Xinhua.

The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Houthi attack targeted the Bayhan district in western Shabwa, where forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and the Southern Transitional Council are stationed.

ALSO READ: Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Greek-owned vessel in Red Sea

Also on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the US "provocative" move of designating the Houthi group as a "terrorist organization".

Kanaani blamed the US "unlimited support" for Israel as the most important reason for the instability in West Asia and the strategic Red Sea, calling on Washington to stop backing the Israeli "war crimes" and killing of civilians in Gaza.