Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Tuesday claimed a missile strike on a Greek-owned cargo ship off the war-torn country’s coast as the United States is poised to reclassify them as terrorists for attacking merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea.

Rebel forces “carried out a targeting operation against the ship... after its crew refused the calls from the naval forces, as well as repeated fiery warning messages,” the Houthis said in a statement.

The US is expected to redesignate the Houthis as terrorists on Wednesday, according to media reports.

Washington designated the Houthis as a terrorist group in January 2021, in the waning days of the Donald Trump administration. The designation was reversed the following month by President Joe Biden.

The original designation caused outcry from those who said it would complicate the humanitarian response in the country, battered by civil war and much of which is controlled by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, the US military said Tuesday that it struck Yemen to destroy four anti-ship missiles “prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas,” and which “presented an imminent threat to both merchant and US Navy ships in the region.”

It is at least the third time in less than a week that the US has carried out strikes against the Houthis, who have repeatedly taken aim at merchant vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane — attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.

The US military also said that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes on Tuesday, and that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier reported that it was hit but remained seaworthy.

The US and Britain targeted nearly 30 sites in Yemen with more than 150 munitions last week, while American forces later attacked a Houthi radar site in what was described as “a follow-on action” related to the previous strikes.