On December 22, the White House accused Iran of being "deeply involved" in recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea carried out by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
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| The US accuses Iran of involvement in Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea - Photo: The destroyer USS Carney shot down a Houthi UAV on December 3. (Source: AFP) |
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that based on intelligence collected by the US, Iran has provided unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles and tactical intelligence to the Houthis, a force in Yemen that has carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea in recent times.
“We know that Iran is deeply involved in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea… We have no reason to believe that Iran is trying to persuade the Houthis to stop this provocation,” Ms. Watson said, in Washington’s strongest accusation yet of Tehran’s role in the incident.
Iran has not yet responded to the above accusations.
In recent weeks, Houthi forces have attacked several commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting international shipping. The group said it was protesting Israel’s attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and would not stop until Israel stopped its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
To prevent a new wave of attacks, the US has coordinated with its allies to form an alliance of several countries to protect ships passing through the Red Sea, one of the important shipping routes for international trade.
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