Dubai: Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels threatened new attacks on ships travelling through the Red Sea corridor, likely trying to back Iran as it worried Monday about an approaching US aircraft carrier after President Donald Trump threatened military action over its crackdown on nationwide protests.
A short video by the Houthis included previously published images of a ship on fire, with the caption: “Soon.” The rebels did not elaborate, but their campaign in the Red Sea saw over 100 ships attacked as part of a campaign the Houthis said pressured Israel over its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis halted their fire after a ceasefire in the conflict, though they’ve repeatedly warned they could resume fire if needed.
The Houthi threat comes as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other guided missile destroyers with it move toward the region. Trump has said the ships are being moved “just in case” he decides to take action against Iran. Trump already has laid out two red lines for attack — the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran conducting mass executions of those it has arrested in a massive crackdown over the demonstrations. Iranian Defence Ministry spokesperson Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik renewed warnings Monday to both Israel and the US over any possible attack, saying it would “be met with a response that is more painful and more decisive than in the past.”
Iranian state television quoted Talaei-Nik as adding that threats from the two countries required Iran “to maintain full and comprehensive preparedness.”
Iran over the weekend unveiled a new banner in Enghelab Square threatening Lincoln, showing an aircraft carrier strewn with bodies and streaked with blood, with the warning: “If you sow the wind, you will
reap the whirlwind.”