TEHRAN 

Iran reacted strongly to overnight US and UK missile strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, blasting the "arbitrary" attacks, which it said violated Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The bombings constitute a "clear violation" of the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as a "violation of international laws," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a statement Friday.

The strikes targeted multiple Houthi sites in Yemeni cities controlled by the Iranian-backed group and followed a string of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea on Israeli-bound vessels.

US President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea."

In a first reaction to the attacks, Kanaani said they were carried out "in line with the continued full support of the US and the UK" for Israel's "war crimes" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He said the "arbitrary attacks" will only contribute to "insecurity and instability" in the region.

"While the Zionist regime (Israel) continues its attacks and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United States and Britain are trying to expand their umbrella of support for the Zionist regime by diverting the attention of the people of the world from the crimes of this fake, criminal and aggressor regime against the Palestinian people," Kanaani said.

He went on to urge the international community to "prevent the expansion of war, instability, and insecurity" in the region.

Iran is a key ally of Yemen's Houthis in the region. Earlier this month, in a meeting with a visiting Houthi delegation, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he "appreciated" the group’s support for the people of Palestine amid the war on Gaza.

On Thursday, Iran's naval forces seized an American oil tanker in the Sea of Oman "on a court order," further inflaming tensions between the two sides.