The Houthis launched their first attack in the Red Sea in six days, firing on an Iran-bound grain cargo ship, the US military said on Wednesday.

The lull in attacks on ships linked to Israel has led to claims that US and UK strikes against the group have successfully neutralized the dangers in the Red Sea.

US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement: “On February 12, between 3:30 and 3:45 a.m. Yemen time, Iran-backed Houthi fighters fired two rockets from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward Bab al-Mandeb.

Both missiles were fired at the MV Star Iris, a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship transiting the Red Sea carrying corn from Brazil. The vessel is reported to be seaworthy with minor damage and no injuries to the crew. From there they announced that the final destination of the MV Star Iris is Bandar Iman Khomeini in Iran."

The leader of the Houthis, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said in a televised speech last week that Israeli ships had stopped entering the Red Sea, but the US Navy estimated that about 100 ships were still operating in the waterway, some of which the Houthis may have considered goals.

It also emerged that Djibouti, located across the Red Sea from Yemen and a staunch opponent of Israel's attacks on Gaza, had rejected a US plan to install missile launchers in the country aimed at Yemen.

In an interview with the BBC, Djibouti's prime minister, Abdulkader Kamil Mohamed, said the US was only allowed to deploy the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system on its territory to protect US military facilities in the country from Yemen.

The US was not given the opportunity to use Djibouti as a military base against Yemen. Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef confirmed that his country would not condemn the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, considering them "legitimate relief for the Palestinians".