JEDDAH: The US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has condemned the recent terror attack on a Saudi navy patrol near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
At least two people were killed when three Houthi suicide boats attacked a Saudi patrol frigate, the coalition in support of the legitimate Yemeni government said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy prime minister and minister of defense, held a telephone conversation with Mattis on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the call, the US secretary of defense condemned the terrorist incident against the Saudi frigate west of the port of Hodeidah, and offered condolences on the death of the Saudi sailors, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The deputy crown prince thanked Mattis for his noble feelings toward the Kingdom, pointing out the strategic relations between the two countries, which extend for more than eighty years.
The two also discussed the fight against terrorism, militias and piracy. They also stressed their rejection of the “interventions by the Iranian regime and its agents in the affairs of countries in the region in order to undermine security and stability in them.”
The deputy crown prince and Mattis also stressed the implementation of directives by King Salman and the US President Donald Trump following the historic telephone call between the two leaders earlier this week, in which they discussed measures to fight terrorism.
