Conflicts & War

Hezbollah leader warns US bombing in Yemen could turn Red Sea into battlefield

Beirut, Jan 14 (EFE).- Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that US bombings against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen could jeopardize the security of the Red Sea, transforming it into a battleground.

“What the Americans did in the Red Sea will harm all maritime navigation. Security has been disrupted,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

He emphasized the potential impact on ships not associated with the conflict, turning the sea into a theater of conflict.

“Even the ships not going to Palestine, even the ships which are not Israeli, even the ships that have nothing to do with the matter, because the sea has become a theatre of fighting, missiles, drones and war ships.”

The leader of the Iran-supported Islamist movement described US and British strikes on Yemen as reckless and an act of stupidity, warning that it would intensify attacks on Israeli ships and vessels heading to Israeli ports.

He refuted claims that Iran dictated the Houthi response, asserting that Yemeni decisions were independent and not prompted by Iran, as alleged by US President Joe Biden.

“The Yemeni response is decided by the Yemenis, and Biden and his administration are wrong in sending messages to Iran and threatening it regarding Yemen,” Nasrallah said.

He claimed that Houthi attacks on cargo ships and tankers in the Red Sea had severely impacted Israel’s economy.

The US and the United Kingdom launched 73 airstrikes in the early hours of Friday against about 30 military Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for their attacks and disruptions in the strategic route, through which about 15 percent of global maritime trade passes.

On Saturday, the US launched more limited strikes against radar systems used by the Yemeni rebels, who have promised to respond to this “aggression” and have declared an “open war” against the Americans.

Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the pro-Iranian militant groups in Iraq are part of the informal Axis of Resistance alliance, led by Iran, which, since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, has carried out actions against Israel and US military positions in the Middle East. EFE

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