Saudi Arabia calls for restraint after air strikes on Yemen

Saudi Arabia called for restraint and "avoiding escalation" in light of the air strikes launched by the United States and Britain against sites linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen, the kingdom's foreign ministry said on Friday.

Saudi Arabia, which has in recent months engaged in peace talks with Yemen's Houthis, was closely monitoring the situation with "great concern," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The kingdom emphasizes the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, as the freedom of navigation in it is an international demand," the ministry added.

U.S. and British strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen were a limited act of self defence and London does not immediately plan any further missions, its junior defence minister said on Friday.

British Armed Forces minister James Heappey said the strikes were a proportionate response, and that the government was aware of the need to avoid escalation in the region.

"Our action and the action of the Americans last night was in self defence in order to defend against further attacks on our warships as they go about their legal and reasonable business," Heappey told Times Radio.

"Of course we have an eye on the need to make sure it doesn't cause a regional escalation."

Asked about possible further missions in a separate interview with the BBC, he said : "There are none immediately planned, and that's an important point. Last night was a limited, proportionate, necessary response."

The remarks echoed a statement by U.S. President Joe Biden, who said the strikes were "targeted" and that he would not hesitate to take further action if needed.

British jets were launched from a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus and struck two targets that had been involved in launching drones and missiles into the Red Sea, Heappey said.

An initial assessment showed the strikes at 2330 GMT on Thursday were successful and the jets had returned to base around 0300 GMT on Friday, he added.

Heappey said the warning to the Houthis remained in place and that the government would see over the next few days whether the attacks in the Red Sea stop.

Asked about criticism from some political opponents that parliament was not given the chance to discuss the strikes in advance, Heappey said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak needed to make such decisions "based on the military, strategic and operational requirements - that led to the timing."

He said parliament would be given an opportunity to debate "these things" when in session.