Iran warns US of targeting suspected spy ships in Middle East: ‘aggressors’ air strikes won’t go unanswered’
- Iran’s warning appeared to signal Tehran’s growing unease over US strikes in recent days in Iraq, Syria and Yemen targeting militias backed by the Islamic Republic
- The two ships are registered as commercial cargo ships with a Tehran-based company that the US Treasury has sanctioned
The Yemen strikes overnight Sunday struck across six provinces of Yemen held by the Houthi rebels, including in Sanaa, the capital. The Houthis gave no assessment of the damage, but the US described hitting underground missile arsenals, launch sites and helicopters used by the rebels.
“These attacks will not discourage Yemeni forces and the nation from maintaining their support for Palestinians in the face of the Zionist occupation and crimes,” Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said. “The aggressors’ air strikes will not go unanswered.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin warned the Houthis after the strikes that “they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels.” That message was echoed by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who said: “The Houthi attacks must stop.”
The Behshad and Saviz are registered as commercial cargo ships with a Tehran-based company the US Treasury has sanctioned as a front for the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. The Saviz, then later the Behshad, have loitered for years in the Red Sea off Yemen, suspected of serving as spy positions for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
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US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen