US military forces have struck at targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen in the past 24 hours, destroying two drones, a Houthi ground control station, and three anti-ship cruise missiles, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Earlier, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea and two US destroyers in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday.
CENTCOM said in a statement on the US strikes: "These weapons presented a clear and imminent threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region."
It said this "reckless and dangerous behavior" by the Houthis threatened regional stability, but it gave no further details and did not confirm that any US vessels had been attacked.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said earlier that the Houthi air force had launched drones against the US destroyer Cole and fired a number of ballistic missiles at the US destroyer Laboon on Wednesday.