Iran Vows to Strengthen Yemen Ally in Response to US Attacks

Iranian officials have told Newsweek that the Islamic Republic was capable of empowering the Yemeni rebel movement that has waged an unprecedented monthslong military campaign against Israel and commercial vessels over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip in spite of repeated U.S. attacks.

With tensions mounting as President Joe Biden's administration pressed forward with military and diplomatic offensives against Ansar Allah, also spelled Ansarullah and widely known abroad as the Houthi movement, the Iranian officials asserted that both Tehran and its Yemeni ally were foiling the White House's strategy.

"The U.S. assumes that by wielding military power and exerting political dominance over the U.N. Security Council, it can isolate and defeat the Yemeni resistance movement," the Iranian Mission to the United Nations told Newsweek. "The U.S. objective is to either intimidate Iran into severing its ties with Ansarullah or compel it to breach Security Council resolutions, thereby casting Tehran as a violator."

"However," they added, "Iran is adept at thwarting the U.S. strategy in a way that not only strengthens Ansarullah but also ensures compliance with the pertinent resolutions."

Ansar Allah Deputy Information Secretary Nasreddin Amer also weighed in on the group's ongoing missile and drone attacks, which have intensified in recent days, telling Newsweek that "our stance is clear and our operations are with the aim of stopping the genocide to which the oppressed Palestinian people are being exposed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and in support of Al-Aqsa Al-Sharif."

"If the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people is lifted, we will stop our operations related to that," Amer said. "As for the American-British aggression against our country, it is another matter that concerns us alone."

The remarks came a day after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced new strikes against Ansar Allah targets in Yemen, claiming the destruction of an "air defense sensor," an "Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel," "two Houthi patrol boats in the Red Sea" and "one uncrewed aerial system" launched from Yemen over the Red Sea.

"It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said. "This action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels."

Ansar Allah was also reported to have launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Red Sea and to have targeted the M/V Verbena cargo ship, identified as Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated, in the Gulf of Aden for the second time in 24 hours.

"This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the CENTCOM statement said. "The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of third country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza."

"CENTCOM will continue to act with partners to hold the Houthis accountable and degrade their military capabilities," it added.

Ansar Allah also claimed to have struck two other vessels, the Seaguardian and Athina, with military spokesperson Yahya Saree asserting that all three ships "belong to companies that violated the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine." Another vessel impacted by recent Ansar Allah strikes, the Tutor, was reported by the U.K. Maritime Trade Organization on Friday to be undergoing evacuation.

The violence in the crucial trade corridor played out as the U.S. also hit out at both Iran and Ansar Allah at a U.N. Security Council briefing Wednesday, alleging that both parties were in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions that ban the sale of weapons to Ansar Allah and call for freedom of navigation to be respected in the waters off Yemen.

The country remains in the throes of a civil war that began a decade ago when Ansar Allah rose against an embattled Saudi-backed government, taking the capital and other key territories. A U.N.-backed ceasefire has largely held place since April 2022 but the war in Gaza has once again put Yemen on the front lines.

The conflict, sparked by a surprise attack led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel last October, has severely ignited regional tensions and Ansar Allah joined a number of fellow factions of the informal Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" in conducting direct attacks on Israel throughout the war.

Clashes between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement have intensified in recent weeks and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq continues to claim frequent missile and drone attacks against Israel, also threatening to resume attacks on U.S. troops in the region if Biden does not withdraw them. Ansar Allah announced joint operations alongside the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Wednesday targeting the Israeli port city of Ashdod, though the Israeli military did not confirm the report.

The deteriorating security situation also led to the first-ever direct exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel in April and discussions in Tehran toward rethinking an official ban on nuclear weapons. The issue again came to the forefront last week with the board members of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog issuing a rare censure against Iran over its nuclear activities.

The threat of further escalation surrounding the conflict has put added on pressure on the Biden administration to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. leader unveiled a three-phase road map to secure a six-week cessation of hostilities and prisoner swap, among other demands from both sides, with the stated goal of eventually bringing a permanent end to the war, but conflicting narratives have emerged over the contents of the deal as talks continue, mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

"We are committed to reaching an immediate ceasefire here that secures the release of hostages and allows the surge of humanitarian aid," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Thursday.

"In addition to that," he added, "we believe that such a ceasefire could create the diplomatic conditions for further serious progress to be made—talking about Israel's further integration in the Middle East, talking about putting the region on a pathway to a two-state solution—so that Israelis and Palestinians can live those equal measures of justice, dignity, and peace."

At the same briefing, Patel denied a recent report in The Guardian that suggested the Biden administration had given Saudi Arabia the green light to revive a peace deal with Ansar Allah amid the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.

"We've been clear and consistent: the U.S. supports peace in Yemen, but a peace agreement can only proceed after the Houthis stop their reckless attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways," Patel said. "All of our partners are united around the need for Houthi attacks to cease before an agreement can be signed."