Iran-backed Houthis claimed another attack on a US ship on Friday, after the United States launched fresh strikes on Houthis targets over their aggression towards vessels in and around the Red Sea.

While Houthis maintained they had struck the commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the US military later said the group’s missiles had missed their mark.

In a statement posted to social media, the Houthis said their “naval forces… carried out a targeting operation against an American ship” – identified as the Chem Ranger – “with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits”.

The US military’s Central Command, said the Houthis on Thursday night “launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, US-Owned, Greek-operated tanker”. “The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship,” the command said on X.