(Washington) The White House raised its tone on Friday by asserting that Iran “was heavily involved in planning” recent attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels against commercial ships in the Red Sea.
White House spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that the United States, which has formed a military coalition to defend maritime traffic in the region, is conducting “intensive consultations with its allies and partners” on how to respond to these attacks. National Security Council.
She added in a statement: “We have no reason to believe that Iran is trying to deter the Houthis from continuing their irresponsible actions.”
This spokesman also announced that “Iranian support for the Houthis is strong and translates into the delivery of advanced military equipment, the transfer of intelligence information, financial aid, and training,” explaining that Tehran “delegated operational decisions to the Houthis.” »
She added that without help from Iran, the Yemeni rebels “will have difficulty monitoring and striking” boats sailing in the Red Sea.
The National Security Council publishes some examples to support these accusations.
For example, US intelligence observed “nearly identical characteristics” between Iranian KAS-04 (or Samad-3) drones and those used by the Houthis this fall.
Washington also revealed that on November 27, Yemeni rebels launched Iranian-designed ballistic missiles that landed near an American warship.
“Decisive role
Adrienne Watson said: “We know that the intelligence used by the Houthis in the maritime domain depends on the surveillance systems provided by the Iranians.”
According to her, the information provided by Tehran played a “decisive” role in tracking commercial ships by the Houthis.
According to the Wall Street JournalThe insurgents use real-time intelligence provided by a spy ship linked to the Iranian regime.
This wave of attacks, carried out with drones and missiles against ships that the Houthis believe are “linked to Israel,” threatens to disrupt global trade.
In fact, major shipping companies have now abandoned using the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen but are not recognized by the international community, repeat that they will continue as long as food and medicine do not return in sufficient quantities to the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territories bombed and besieged by Israel. In response to the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on October 7 on Israeli territory.
Iran acknowledges its political support for the Houthis, who have been waging a war since 2014 against the Yemeni government recognized by the international community. But Tehran denies providing military equipment to the rebels.
“weakest link”
The Americans and their allies wonder about the extent of operational understanding between the Iranian regime and the Houthis, without being able to determine to what extent the rebel group is or is not acting on behalf of Tehran.
“Of all the groups close to Iran in the region, the Houthis have the weakest relationship with Tehran. “It is difficult to see how their attacks serve their interests or Iran’s interests,” a diplomat from a US-allied country noted recently.
He stressed, for example, that Hezbollah, the Lebanese group whose closeness to Iran is undoubted, had not carried out attacks on a similar scale.
So far, US President Joe Biden, who wants to avoid a regional spread of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, has opted for deterrence, in particular by sending warships to the Middle East.
But according to several American media outlets, he is now considering launching direct strikes against the Houthis.
