Iran’s defense minister warned that if the Western world moves forward with a United States-led task force to protect ships in nearby waterways from being attacked by Houthi rebels, it would lead to “extraordinary problems.”
Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani issued the warning on Thursday amid a series of attacks against commercial vessels in the region with a limited response from the U.S. military, which has intervened and responded to distress calls from the attacked vessels.
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“If they make such an irrational move, they will be faced with extraordinary problems,” Ashtiani said, according to a Reuters report citing a local Iranian publication. “Nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance.”
Earlier this week, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sarea confirmed they were responsible for a recent attack, and he warned they would continue to attack ships that have links to Israel due to the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Houthi-run channel al Masirah.
“Well, first of all, we are continuing to take the situation in the Red Sea extremely seriously. There should be no doubt about that. The actions that we’ve seen from these Houthi forces are destabilizing, they’re dangerous, and clearly a flagrant violation of international law,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said during a press briefing earlier this week.
The U.S. is working with the combined maritime force, which consists of nearly 40 countries, to set up a task force to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels in the region, though Ryder said on Tuesday he didn’t have “any specific announcements to make” on the subject.
In the meantime, the U.S. Navy continues “to patrol the international waterways throughout the region to support freedom of navigation and efforts to ensure safety, security, and stability,” he added.
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National security adviser Jake Sullivan recently said Iran “fully enabled” these attacks with its support for the Houthis.
The American and French navies have strengthened their presence in the Red Sea to protect vessels from the risk of seizure or attack by the Houthis.
