Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels have said they had seized in the Red Sea a ship owned by an Israeli businessman and rerouted it towards the Yemeni coast.

Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the rebels “seized an Israeli ship and took it to the Yemeni coast”.

Israel, the US and Japan have condemned the vessel’s seizure.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the vessel was owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese firm.

Nippon Yusen, also known as NYK Line of Japan, confirmed to AFP that it operated the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader.