NEW YORK, December 17. /TASS/. The US Defense Department is considering directly striking the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah’s (the Houthi) rebel military targets in Yemen in response to the escalating attacks on military and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the US website Semafor reported citing sources.

Biden administration officials told the portal that they’re increasingly concerned that the Houthis are trying to undermine global maritime trade, both to undercut trade to Israel and to raise the costs to the US and its allies for supporting the Jewish state.

That said, US officials are weighing a strike on the Houthis against their fears of potentially fueling a broader war against Iran.