Iran warns the United States of the consequences of forming a naval alliance to thwart Houthi attacks
An American destroyer intercepts a drone launched from an area controlled by the Houthis after the movement attacked the commercial ship Ardmore Encounter with boats in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
Iran’s Defense Minister, Major General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, warned the United States against forming an international alliance in the Red Sea to confront Houthi attacks in Yemen. This came in statements to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on Thursday, commenting on Washington’s attempt to form an international force to protect navigation in the Red Sea.
He pointed out that the region can no longer bear more power struggles, and the American side cannot take such a step, explaining that if the Americans “want to commit such foolishness, they will face enormous problems. All countries are present in this region, and it is our region.”
He affirmed that his country has control over that region, and “no one can maneuver in it,” hinting at the attacks targeting American bases in several countries such as Iraq and Syria.
The Houthis continue to launch attacks targeting tankers and ships in the Red Sea despite threats of the use of force by American officials and the Israeli government.
The U.S. Central Command said early Thursday that the United States had shot down a drone launched from an area controlled by the Houthis in response to a call from a tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands in the southern Red Sea yesterday, Wednesday.
The Central Command added in a post on the Ex platform, formerly Twitter, that the U.S. Navy destroyer Mason intercepted the drone that was launched from an area controlled by the Houthis after the movement attacked the commercial ship Ardmore Encounter with boats.
It continued that two missiles were fired from two areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, but they did not hit the ship, and it was able to continue its way without further incidents. It clarified that it did not receive reports of the ship or its crew being injured or damaged.
This is the latest incident in a series of attacks by the Houthi movement based in northern Yemen targeting ships claimed to be owned by Israel or heading to it. The latest was an attempt to target two ships by boats carrying a number of militants.
The movement, which controls the capital Sanaa, hinders the passage of these ships through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while Washington coordinates with Riyadh to protect maritime navigation.
The security of ships in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait is the focus of talks between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Kingdom on Wednesday.
The Houthis in Yemen entered the conflict between the Israeli army and the Hamas movement, the repercussions of which leaked across the Middle East since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7. They attacked ships in vital navigation corridors, launched drones, and fired missiles at Israel itself.
The Houthis said on Saturday that they would target all ships heading to Israel regardless of their nationalities and warned all global shipping companies not to deal with Israeli ports. Washington and Tel Aviv warned of targeting maritime navigation, threatening to use military solutions.
Israeli military sources revealed the sending of the missile-equipped warship Sa’ar 6 to the Red Sea to protect ships heading to Israel.
In a sign of the magnitude of the threat to maritime navigation, sources said that the cost of shipping goods across the Red Sea rises with the escalation of Houthi attacks on ships they consider linked to Israel amid fears that their impact could extend to disrupting global supplies sailing through the region.
