Attacks by Yemen's Houthis on commercial shipping threaten "navigational rights and freedoms" in the Red Sea and are a "global challenge" that require "a global response," the United States told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

The United States believes the situation in the Red Sea "is at a inflection point," Chris Lu, a U.S. representative to the United Nations, told the council in its first meeting of 2024.