News
Published January 1, 2024, 6:45 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – Iran wasted no time Monday sending a warship into the Red Sea, just a day after the U.S. killed 10 Houthi militants who attacked merchant ships in the disputed waters that separate Africa from the Middle East.
Tehran's Alborz destroyer crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait on the same day and crashed into the sea. According to state media, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian praised the Houthis' “strong and forceful stance… in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine.” .
The Houthis, an Iran-backed Islamist military group, have been firing drones and missiles at foreign ships in the Red Sea from their native Yemen since November in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
On Sunday, the US Navy capped 2023 by sinking three Houthi ships in the Red Sea. This was the first time the US killed a member of Iran's proxy group since the recent wave of attacks began.
Helicopters from the warships USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely opened fire on “four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats” around 6:30 a.m. local time, sinking three of them while responding to a distress call from the Singapore-flagged ship Maersk Hangzhou. according to US Central Command.
So far, the Houthis have carried out nearly 20 attacks on such ships in the Red Sea, prompting some shipping companies to avoid the waterway altogether.
Iran sent the warship Alborz (pictured) into the Red Sea on Monday. AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Mahdi Marizad
The main trade route provides passage between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Sea, allowing ships to bypass Africa via the Suez Canal.
Iran's decision to send a warship to the Red Sea was apparently a response to Washington's calls for Tehran to condemn the Houthi attacks and promote peace in the region.
But given that Iran has supported most warring factions in the region — including Hamas, which caused the conflict with its Oct. 7 attack on Israel — the negative reaction was to be expected, defense experts told The Post on Monday.
The Iranian destroyer crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait on the same day. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian praised the Houthis for their “support to the oppressed people of Palestine.” Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2021
In fact, Iran welcomed Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam in Tehran on Monday. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, praised the proxy group's “courageous action” against “Zionist aggression” in the region.
While the Houthis characterized the attacks as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas and said their attacks would not end until Israel allows the full flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, none of the attacks targeted Israel Defense Forces ships.
While Iran did not directly link the ship's arrival in the Red Sea to the simmering conflict, Iranian state media reported that it “comes amid rising tensions following Yemen's retaliatory attacks on Israeli ships in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
The US killed 10 Houthi fighters on December 31 after they attempted to attack a merchant ship. New York Post Houthi fighters at a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, on December 29, 2023. OSAMAH YAHYA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“Iranian warships have been operating in open waters since 2009 to secure shipping lines, fight pirates and carry out other missions,” the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Still, U.S. and coalition forces will remain in the Red Sea after the Pentagon announced Dec. 18 a new partnership called “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to counter the growing number of attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea.
“This is an international challenge that requires collective action,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in announcing the group’s creation. “The recent escalation of reckless Houthi attacks from Yemen threatens the free flow of trade, endangers innocent seafarers and violates international law.”
Load More…
{{#isDisplay}} {{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}} {{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}} {{/isSRVideo}}
https://nypost.com/2024/01/01/news/iran-sends-warship-through-red-sea-praises-brave-houthis-after-us-kills-10/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign =site%20buttons
Copy the URL to share