A Yemeni official has warned that American and British forces can no longer pass through the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait as tensions grow in the region following illegal US-led military strikes on the Arab country.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of the Ansarullah resistance movement, issued the warning on Monday after the United States and its allies bombed Yemen amid frustration with anti-Israel naval operations in the Red Sea.

He said that the Yemeni armed forces are developing their missile capabilities to bring new surprises soon.

“The US and UK forces can no longer pass through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait,” a sea route chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean, he added.

“The Axis of Resistance has regained control over the region. The Americans will regret their acts of aggression against Yemen and they will be a loser.”

The US and Britain, backed by Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, struck more than 60 targets at almost 30 locations in Yemen on Friday, killing five people and injuring six others.

On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a “follow-on action” was conducted against a Yemeni radar facility by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.

Bukhaiti said that the Yemeni forces are capable of confronting the Americans and that they will block the passage of US and Israeli ships through the Red Sea.

Earlier on Monday, the Yemeni forces hit a US-owned container ship with a ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.