US and British strikes on Yemen ‘escalate tensions’
TEHRAN: Iran condemned on Sunday the latest strikes by the United States and Britain on Yemen, saying they were seeking to “escalate tensions and crises” in the region.
“With such atacks, America and Britain seek to escalate tensions and crises in the region, and expand the scope of war and instability,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
“Certainly, this kind of arbitrary and aggressive military operation, aside from aggravating insecurity and instability in the region, will not achieve anything for these aggressor countries,” Kanani added.
He further condemned the United States and Britain for failing to “take immediate and effective action” to stop Israel’s deadly campaign in Gaza.
The US and Britain struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, answering a recent surge in atacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel.
According to US officials, American and British fighter jets hit sites in eight locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones and air defence systems. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide early details of an ongoing military operation.
This is the fourth time that the US and British militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since Jan.12. But the US has also been carrying out almost daily strikes to take out Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons that were prepared to launch.
The US F/A-18 fighter jets launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircrat carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea, officials said.
“The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” said US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal atacks.”
The Houthis denounced the “Us-british aggression” and vowed to keep up its military operation in response. “The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that they will confront the Us-british escalation with more qualitative military operations against all hostile targets in the Red and Arabian Seas in defence of our country, our people and our nation,” it said in a statement.
The US, UK, and other allies said in a statement the “necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across 8 locations in Yemen” that also included underground storage facilities, radar and a helicopter.
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said RAF Typhoon jets engaged in “precision strikes” aimed at degrading Houthi drones and launchers. Shapps said it came ater “severe Houthi atacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including against the British-owned MV Islander and the MV Rubymar, which forced the crew to abandon ship.” It’s the fourth time Britain has joined in the Us-led strikes.
The strikes have support from the wider coalition, which includes Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
President Joe Biden and other senior leaders have repeatedly warned that the US won’t tolerate the Houthi atacks against commercial shipping. But the counteratacks haven’t appeared to diminish the Houthis’ campaign against shipping in the region, which they say is over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but we will once again reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats,” said the Saturday statement.