Report claims Yemen’s Houthis have hypersonic missile, possibly raising stakes in Red Sea crisis

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia’s state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unnamed official but provided no evidence for the claim. 

It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine. 

However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.