To the United States military, says it's conducted more airstrikes on Houthi missiles in Yemen, the latest action against the Iran-backed group. Us Central Command said it struck missiles which were preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said the joint airstrikes were in self-defense, that Houthi's attacks on shipping had put lives at risk and were having economic consequences. This, as America's top diplomat, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, embarks on his fifth trip to the Middle East in the past four months. Tension with Iran, which supports the Houthis, are rising. Washington has also accused Tehran of having its fingerprints on the drone attack that killed three US soldiers at a military base in Jordan last week. The White House has warned that its retaliatory airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria are just the beginning, not the end of its response. Iran denies involvement, but its affiliate, the Islamic resistance in Iraq, has claimed responsibility. What is the US Secretary of State hoping to achieve on his Middle East tour? Well, an American official says, Anthony Blinken will push for progress on a hostage deal that includes a humanitarian pause.

He'll talk to Arab nations about what happens the day after a deal is struck. We're told Mr. Blinken plans to talk directly to countries in the region about the scope of US actions taken in retaliation for the deaths of those US service members last week. Well, let's go live to our Middle East correspondent, Hugo Pachega, who is in Baghdad for us. Hugo, a busy agenda for Mr. Blinken. It is a bit of a juggling act that he's got, isn't it?

Exactly. So the main goal of his trip is to try to secure the release of the hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza, more than 100 hostages who were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks in Israel back in October, and at the same time, secure a pause in hostilities in Gaza to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population of Gaza. But at the same time, we're seeing that the Americans are heavily involved in what is happening elsewhere in the region. We've seen that there have been more American air strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen. The Americans are saying that this is about guaranteeing a freedom of navigation in that region, that this doesn't have anything to do with the war in Gaza. The Houthis are saying that these attacks are going to continue, that they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, and that these attacks are going to continue unless there is a ceasefire in Gaza. So Gaza, the very heart of what is happening in Yemen. And then the situation here in Iraq and Syria. American officials are saying that the American response to those attacks targeting US bases in those countries have just begun, and more attacks are going to come in the next few days.

We saw the first wave of air strikes targeting Iranian interests in Iraq and Syria on the weekend. I think the focus now is on Iran and its proxies and how or if they're going to respond. So a very busy agenda for Anthony Blinken as he returns to the Middle East.

Yeah, I'm interested. You're in Baghdad. What has been the government reaction there to those retaliationary strikes from the US on those targets in the Middle East?

Yeah, I think people are still waiting to see what is going to come next because the Americans are saying that this is just the beginning, that more air strikes are going to happen or more steps are going to be taken to target those groups' support supported by Iran, groups that have been behind attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria. At least that's the accusation being made by the Americans. But there was some strong response from the Iraqi government saying that those air strikes violated the country's sovereignty. Now, they're making the case for negotiations to happen for the end of the American military presence here in Iraq. I don't think anything is going to happen anytime soon. But again, it shows how tense, how volatile the situation here has been. Again, I think people are waiting to see not only in terms of what is going to happen in relation to those American attacks, but also how or if Iran and its proxies are going to respond.

Hugo Bachega, a Middle East correspondent in Baghdad. Thank you for joining.