Iran has denied such accusations, saying the Houthi rebels were acting on their own. The US previously accused Iran of being “deeply involved” in the Houthi attacks. “I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks,” he said on social media, noting Tehran’s “long-standing support” for the Houthis.Ībdollahian criticised the “double standards” of some Western countries, according to a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry, saying the “Israeli regime cannot be allowed … to set the region on fire” with the Gaza war. On Monday, Britain’s Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain was “willing to take direct action” against the Houthis “to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea”.īritish Foreign Secretary David Cameron had spoken on Sunday with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian about the Red Sea tensions. Regional tensions have spiked since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks. It is unclear where or when the meeting took place, but Iranian media quoted Ahmadian as saying Tehran praised the Houthis for supporting Palestinians and standing up to Israel. Separately, Iran’s security chief, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, held a meeting with top Houthi negotiator Mohammad Abdulsalam, according to the state-run news agency IRNA. Serdar said “more and more warships” are now amassing in the region, including those belonging to the US and Britain. “These waters are open to Iranian warships, as they’re open to many countries.” “From time to time”, there have been Iranian warships operating in this area, he said. UK threatens ‘direct action’Īl Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Djibouti, said that Iran sending a warship to the region was not a “new” development. It also comes after Sayyed Razi Mousavi, one of the top commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, was killed in an Israeli air strike outside of Damascus last week. The Tasnim report comes a day after US Navy helicopters fired on Houthi rebels attempting to board a cargo ship off Yemen, with the rebels reporting 10 fighters dead. The Houthis say the attacks were in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel is continuing a months-long bombardment campaign.Īccording to the International Chamber of Shipping, 12 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, which provides a shortcut past Africa via the Suez Canal.
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