WASHINGTON, March 16. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a telephone conversation on the US military operation against the Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah, the US State Department said in a statement.
"The Secretary informed Russia of U.S. military deterrence operations against the Iran-backed Houthis and emphasized that continued Houthi attacks on U.S. military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated," the statement said.
Rubio and Lavrov also discussed further steps to restore Russian-American ties during a telephone conversation, the US Department of State added.
"Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia," the statement said.
Earlier, the US Central Command reported that the US military had launched a large-scale operation against the rebel movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen.
The operation includes a series of precision strikes on Houthi targets "across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation," the statement said.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump ordered the US military to begin military action against the Houthis. He noted that rebel attacks on US ships must stop from today. In his message, Trump also called on Iran to immediately stop supporting the Houthis.