US Targets Houthi Missile Launchers, Vows To Protect Shipping
The United States struck Yemeni Houthis’ missile launchers, at midnight on Wednesday, in another attempt to prevent the group from attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
The United States struck Yemeni Houthis’ missile launchers, at midnight on Wednesday, in another attempt to prevent the group from attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on X that 14 missiles belonging to Iran-backed Houthis were targeted at 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time) on January 17, adding that the missiles were all “loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.”
“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time,” the post added.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM commander Michael Erik Kurilla vowed that Washington will continue its efforts to protect the lives of Americans and innocent mariners against Yemeni Houthis’ threats in the Red Sea.
“The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes,” he stressed.
CENTCOM’s offensive action came hours after the Biden administration listed Houthis as specially designated global terrorists (SDGT) in response to the group’s rising threats in the region. The US, however, has not decided yet to include Houthis in the list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTO).
The Biden administration delisted Iran-backed Houthis’ designation as both a foreign terrorist organization and as a specially designated global terrorist, when it assumned office in early 2021.
Although Tehran has avoided any direct involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the regime has used its proxy groups in the region such as Houthis and Hezbollah to attack Israeli and American targets.
On Wednesday, the Office of the US Special Envoy for Iran condemned Tehran’s backing of Houthi rebels, with a commitment from Washington to ensure freedom of navigation.
The Iraqi state news agency announced that the meeting will focus on Iran's Revolutionary Guards Monday missile strike on Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. The date of the session is not announced yet. The country has also lodged a complaint at the United Nations Security Council and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.
Also on Wednesday, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokeswoman said the country has recalled its ambassador over the Islamic Republic’s violation of its airspace, calling it a 'blatant breach' of its sovereignty. Pakistan will not allow Iran's ambassador, who was visiting his home country, to return, the ministry said in a statement. Latest reports Wednesday evening local time spoke of Pakistan closing its border with Iran.
In less than one day, the IRGC launched missile and drone strikes on three neighboring countries, claiming ‘revenge’ for civilians and troops killed in the past few weeks. Having hit several locations in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan Monday, IRGC missiles and drones targeted Pakistan Tuesday, in an operation that Iran said was against two bases of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl. Provincial officials in Pakistan said two children were killed and several others injured by missile strikes near the Iran border, while another toddler was killed in the IRGC’s strikes in Erbil.
Iran's Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran hit militants in "missile and drone" strikes, claiming that no Pakistani national was targeted. Only "terrorists" were hit, the Iranian diplomat said at Davos, Switzerland, where he was participating in the World Economic Forum, alleging that those targeted were linked to Israel.
According to the Pakistan foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the violation was "unprovoked and unacceptable," adding that the country reserved "the right to respond to this illegal act."
Iran and Pakistan have rocky but functioning ties. Clashes in border areas occur from time to time, mainly involving groups such as Jaish al-Adl, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on, and the killing of, several Iranian border patrols.
On Tuesday, hours before the airstrikes, Iran and Pakistan had a joint military exercise in the Persian Gulf, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, and Iran’s foreign minister met Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Officials in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran, said that four missiles had hit the Panjgur district close to the Iranian border. "Four missiles were fired in the village of Koh-i-Sabaz which is around 50 km inside Pakistan soil," a senior official of the Panjgur administration told Reuters. "A mosque and three houses were damaged in the attack," another official said.
Iran’s muscle-flexing – using ballistic missiles on targets, some of which were well over 1,200 km away -- comes amid US and UK airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who, nonetheless, continue to target vessels in the Red Sea as a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza.
While the attacks on Syria and Pakistan do not seem directly related to Israel, with Tehran claiming the strikes were targeting anti-Iran terror groups, they signal bolder direct action from Iran, which funds and supplies forces opposing Israel like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Claiming that the Houthis "are not receiving any orders or instructions from Tehran," Amir-Abdollahian said in Davos that attacks against Israel and its interests by the "Axis of Resistance" will stop if the Gaza war ends. ‘Axis of Resistance’ is a term the Islamic Republic uses for its network of proxy militia across the region.
The Biden administration is set to re-designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization in light of the terror the group is waging on global trade and targets, three years after it lifted the designation upon assuming office.
