The US and the UK are set to carry out airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as early as tonight. 

This comes after both countries warned there could be consequences if ships are continually targeted in the Red Sea.

On Tuesday, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles launched by the Houthis, in what was described as their biggest attack so far in solidarity with Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Antony Blinken warned of ‘consequences’ if the Houthi do not stop attacking ships in the Red Sea, and called on Iran to end their support for the rebels.

Sources inside London’s Whitehall have confirmed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is ready to sign off military reprisals against the Houthis, who have repeatedly attacked merchant shipping in the Red Sea.

The plans were finalised today following meetings of the Prime Minister’s National Security Council and the emergency committee Cobra.

The rebels say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their targets are increasingly random, raising the risk of a US retaliatory strike on Yemen.

The US has set up a multinational naval task force to protect shipping from the attacks, which Blinken on Wednesday said were ‘aided and abetted’ by Iran. 

Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder said at a news conference in Washington DC: ‘I’m not going to telegraph, forecast or speculate on any potential future operations.

‘And I think that statement from multiple nations when it comes to the fact that there will be consequences – should the attacks not stop – speaks for itself. 

‘And I’ll just leave it at that.’

Asked about potential US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, the national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said: ‘I’m not going to telegraph our punches one way or another here. 

‘We’re gonna do what we have to do, to counter and defeat these threats that the Houthis keep throwing up on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.’

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate end to the Houthi attacks. 

Secretary of State Blinken was in Bahrain on Wednesday as part of his week-long tour aimed at working on the Middle East crisis.