Iran was “directly involved” in an attack on a shipping vessel in the Red Sea carried out by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists in support of Hamas, the US Navy’s top Middle East commander said on Monday.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, accused Tehran of doing everything it could to support Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which have also targeted US carriers and destroyers.
“What I would say is that Iran is obviously funding, they’re supplying resources, they’re supplying, and they’re providing training,” Cooper told the Associated Press. “They are clearly directly involved. There are no secrets there.”
Cooper noted that the Houthis have expanded to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while previously, the Iran-backed terrorist group maintained its activities in the Persian Gulf.
Attacks on “Israeli-related” shipping vessels in the Red Sea have destabilized the main route that carries about 15% of the world’s trade between Asia and Europe.
Danish shipping giant Maersk diverted one of its airlines on Monday from the area, opting instead for a longer journey around the Cape of Good Hope, the company said in a statement.
A shipping vessel was hit by Houthi terrorists in the Gulf of Aden last week. Indian Ministry of Defense/AFP via Getty Images The Houthi terrorist group is allegedly financed, supplied and trained directly by Iran. AFP via Getty Images
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, shipping costs have jumped more than 600% due to terrorist attacks targeting ships transiting the Red Sea.
“Obviously, the actions of the Houthis, probably in terms of their attacks on merchant shipping, are the most significant we’ve seen in two generations,” Cooper said.
“The fact is that they attacked the international community; therefore, the international response I think you have seen,” he added, referring to the US-led missile attack on the Houthis last week.
US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper (right), commander of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, warned on Monday about the impact of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the need for an international response.
Cooper’s admission of Tehran’s role in the Red Sea attack came after Iranian sources claimed its military leaders, along with Hezbollah officials, were on the ground in Yemen helping the Houthis.
Iran is accused of sending sophisticated drones with anti-ship cruise missiles, precision-hit ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles, sources said.
The US intercepted one such shipment during a January 11 raid in the Red Sea, which found “ballistic missiles and cruise missile components,” officials said, adding that air defense parts were also found.
The US and its allies have launched a series of airstrikes against Houthi military bases in Yemen. uk Ministry of Defence/UPI/Shutterstock
Members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah have also been spotted in Yemen training Houthi terrorists and helping them assemble missile parts smuggled into the country, according to a former Yemeni military source.
The US has launched at least six airstrikes against Houthi-linked sites in Yemen since last week, with the Biden administration making a U-turn from 2021 and now relisting the group as a terrorist organization.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian suggested last week that attacks in the Red Sea would stop only when the war in Gaza ends.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
