WASHINGTON – Iran quickly sent warships into the Red Sea on Monday, a day after the United States attacked a commercial ship and killed 10 Houthi fighters in the disputed waters separating Africa and the Middle East.
According to state media, on the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian announced that Iran's Alborz destroyer will cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and enter the sea to support the Houthis' “oppressed peoples of Palestine.” He praised his strong and energetic attitude. .
The Iran-backed Islamist Houthi group has been firing drones and missiles at foreign ships in the Red Sea from its home base in Yemen since November in response to the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict.
On Sunday, the U.S. Navy sank three Houthi ships in the Red Sea in an attack, marking the first time the U.S. killed members of the Iranian proxy group since the latest wave of attacks began and capped off 2023. .
At around 6:30 a.m. local time, when responding to an SOS from the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, helicopters from the warship Eisenhower and Gravely opened fire on “four small Iranian-backed Houthi boats,” three of which were destroyed. sunk the ship. According to U.S. Central Command.
The Houthis have launched nearly 20 attacks against such ships in the Red Sea, prompting some shipping companies to avoid the waterway altogether.
The main trade lane passes between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea, allowing ships to bypass Africa using the Suez Canal.
Iran's decision to send warships to the Red Sea was an apparent response to Washington's calls for Tehran to condemn the Houthi attacks and promote peace in the region.
But the denial was expected given that Iran supports most parties to conflicts in the region, including Hamas, which sparked the conflict with its October 7 attack on Israel, defense experts said. The family told The Post on Monday.
Indeed, Iran on Monday welcomed Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam to Tehran, and the National Security Council's top secretary, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, announced that the proxy group is fighting “Zionist aggression” in the region. He praised the act of bravery.
The Houthis have cited the attacks as a response to the Israel-Hamas war and say they will not end until Israel allows full humanitarian aid into Gaza, but both attacks were carried out by Israeli Defense Forces. It wasn't aimed at ships.
Although Iran has not directly linked the ship's arrival in the Red Sea to the escalating conflict, Iranian state media reported that “tensions are rising following Yemeni retaliatory attacks on Israeli-owned ships supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.'' “It happened at.'' ”
“Since 2009, Iranian warships have been operating in international waters to secure shipping lanes, fight piracy and carry out other missions,” the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Still, U.S. and coalition forces will also remain in the Red Sea after the Pentagon announced on Dec. 18 a new partnership dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the growing number of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. It turns out.
“This is an international challenge that requires collective action,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in announcing the group's formation. “The recent escalation of reckless attacks by the Houthis from Yemen threatens free trade, endangers innocent seafarers, and violates international law.”
