Britain braced to send a formidable warship to the flashpoint of the Red Sea in World War II, as Houthi rebel arsenal attacks ships

Britain is preparing to send an aircraft carrier to the Red Sea to destroy Houthi targets in Yemen with F-35 Lightning jets.

Defense Secretary James Heappey gave a “whopping hint” that one of the navy's two aircraft carriers would be ordered into battle.

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Both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are alongside in Portsmouth, despite attacks by Iranian-backed rebels on cargo ships off the coast of Yemen.

Heappey said the Royal Navy's most formidable warships were not needed as long as the American aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower was there.

The American Eisenhower, known as Ike, has repeatedly deployed his fleet of embarked F/A-18 Super Hornets to hit Houthi targets.

Britain has joined the attacks on the country by launching RAF Typhoon jets on a 3,200-mile round trip from Cyprus.

Heappey indicated that the British aircraft carriers were ready to relieve the USS Eisenhower if it needed time in port.

He said: “With the Ike on station – the Eisenhower on station – and with the jets available at Akrotiri, we were able to meet the challenge as it is today.

“That's not to say that if the Eisenhower goes home, if we need to close a gap in the American commitment, or if the situation worsens and we need more, we wouldn't do it. [send a British carrier].”

When wondering whether Britain would deploy an aircraft carrier, he said: “I gave you a great clue in my previous answer.

“The fact is, the Eisenhower can't stay there forever. And so there is something going on to maintain an aircraft carrier presence in the region, where we could work with the Americans to provide capacity there.

It comes as an Iran-backed terror chief tonight announced the end of his Iraq-based militia's attacks on US assets in both Syria and Iraq.

Secretary General of the Hezbollah Brigades al-Hamidawi said military operations against the US have been suspended and that they will find “new ways” to support Gaza.

He said: “While we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupying forces – to embarrass the Iraqi government – we will continue to defend our people in Gaza in other ways.”

The Hezbollah Brigades are a group affiliated with the Hashed al-Shaabi, an alliance of Iranian-backed former paramilitary groups now integrated into Iraq's regular armed forces.

His striking comments come amid rising tensions over the powder keg of the Middle East after another terrorist group associated with Iran led a deadly attack on U.S. troops.

It is said that President Joe Biden che takes into account glitzy naval targets as he plots revenge for the ambush on the American base in Jordan that left three dead.

The attack marked the first American deaths from enemy fire since the start of the war Israel-Hamas war – a major escalation of the crisis manifesting itself throughout the region.

The emboldened Houthi rebels also remain undeterred in their mission to turn the Red Sea into an active war zone, holding vital shipping hostage with a barrage of rocket and drone attacks.

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