The US military carried out another attack against areas controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. This was in response to a Houthi attack on Wednesday that damaged a US-owned merchant ship sailing in the Gulf of Aden. The attacks came after the United States re-designated the Houthi rebels, an organization backed by Iran, as a terrorist organization following weeks of missile and drone attacks by the Yemeni group on international shipping in the Red Sea. But as Voice of America correspondent Carla Babb reports, critics remain concerned about Iran’s growing aggression in the region.
The United States on Wednesday added the Houthi militants to its list of terrorist groups, after about 30 attacks on ships in the international Red Sea lanes.
“If (the Houthi rebels) stop the attacks, we can reconsider the decision,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Conversely, the United States and Britain could launch more attacks against points inside Yemen from where the Houthis launch missiles and drones against ships in the Red Sea.
“They have to ask themselves how much they want to destroy their military capabilities as they continue these reckless and dangerous attacks,” said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
“It is a delayed response and cannot yet be assessed as complete,” says Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Federation for the Defense of Democracies.
White House critics, such as analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu, say more needs to be done against the Houthi group, who serve as proxies for their military backer, Iran.
“This is a neo-colonial project in which the Islamic Republic is trying to foment crises throughout the Arab region of the Middle East, to make the groups it supports capable of fighting the ideological opponent of the Islamic Republic, which is the Jewish state,” says Mr. Taleblu.
Iran supplies weapons to violent groups throughout the Middle East: in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
During this month, US forces in a small boat off the coast of Somalia confiscated several advanced weapons, manufactured by Iran and destined for Yemen.
Iran denies supplying the Houthis with missiles, despite repeated evidence to the contrary.
“Iran usually aims to distance itself from threats, which gives it the opportunity to deny involvement. But the Islamic regime is actually openly proud of the missile capacity it has developed,” says analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu from the Federation for the Defense of Democracies.
Tehran launched deadly missile attacks inside Iraq and Pakistan this week, angering its neighbors. Islamabad recalled its Iranian ambassador as Iraqis in the northern Kurdish region launched mass protests.