Iran Deputy FM Dismisses US Claim over Iran’s Role in Yemen’s Red Sea Operation

Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani denied US claims that Tehran was involved in the attacks by the Yemeni troops on vessels in the Red Sea heading towards the Israeli-occupied territories, saying Ansarullah forces are acting independently and not taking orders from Iran.

Yemen’s Army has since last month launched multiple drone and missile attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea in response to the israeli war on the Gaza Strip, disrupting maritime traffic. Yemenis have pledged to continue targeting ships sailing close to the war-torn country as long as the Zionist regime continues its aggression against the besieged enclave.

“The resistance has its own tools and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities,” Baqeri Kani told reporters on Saturday.

The United States has claimed Iran was “deeply involved” in Yemeni raids on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Pentagon reported Yemen has launched 100 drone and missile attacks targeting 10 ships in the Red Sea.

Tehran has made no secret of its backing for the resistance movements in West Asia, but stresses that they make their own decisions. Since the start of the Gaza crisis, Iranian officials have repeatedly cautioned that the current status in West Asia resembled a powder keg which could spiral out of control. Tehran warned that if diplomatic bids to stop the israeli assault prove to be unsuccessful, there will be a risk of the conflict escalating uncontrollably, with multiple regional players joining the fight.

“The fact that certain powers, such as the Americans and the Israelis, suffer strikes from the resistance movement … should in no way call into question the reality of the strength of the resistance in the region,” Baqeri Kani added.