A senior official from the Iran-aligned Ansar Allah movement (also known as the Houthis) told Barron’s that there would be serious consequences after the US carried out a new attack on Yemen in the midst of a regional crisis. He told the magazine that he was deaf.
After reports broke on Friday of explosions in at least three locations in Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah, the capital Sanaa and the southwestern city of Damar, local Ansar Allah-affiliated media quickly pinned the blame on Washington. A US defense official initially told Newsweek that the Pentagon was “aware of reports citing US strikes in Yemen.”
Later, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced responsibility for the operation, stating that “Today at approximately 5:00 p.m. (Sana’a time), 15 Iranian-backed Houthi targets in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas were attacked. carried out an attack.”
Centcom further said, “These targets included Houthi offensive military capabilities. These measures protect freedom of navigation and make the high seas safer and more secure for U.S., coalition forces, and commercial shipping. It was taken for this purpose,” he added.
As the war against Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip, the United States, often in coordination with the United Kingdom, has carried out numerous attacks against Ansar Allah. This is in response to the group’s continued campaign to attack international ships allegedly transporting goods to Israel as the war with Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip. But the latest sortie comes amid a particularly volatile series of regional developments, and Ansar Allah’s deputy intelligence chief Nasreddin Amer warned that it would be treated as another destabilizing act.
“We see this as an escalation and a brutal act of aggression,” Amell told Barron’s. “We will meet this with escalation and the United States will pay a heavy price.” he said.
Smoke rises after U.S. military aircraft and ships attack Ansar Allah positions in Sanaa, Yemen, on October 4. A senior official from the Iran-aligned Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, spoke to Barron’s on the ground. After U.S. aircraft and ships attacked Ansar Allah strongholds in Sanaa, Yemen, on October 4, senior officials from the Iran-aligned Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, feared serious consequences for the American homeland. told Newsweek that it would occur. countries after carrying out new attacks against Yemen amid a regional crisis. Osama Abdulrahman/AP
Newsweek has contacted CENTCOM for further comment.
The attack is the first carried out by the United States since Iran launched a major ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday. Iran killed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) General Abbas Nirforshan in Beirut last week. The attack was carried out in retaliation. Actions related to Israel.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023. The conflict has since escalated, with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement firing rockets and drones at Israel, and cross-border exchanges have intensified. attack
Like Hezbollah, Ansar Allah, a member of the unofficial Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition, began firing missiles and drones at Israel just weeks into the conflict. The Yemeni group has since expanded its attacks to target vessels accused of defying a naval blockade it unilaterally imposed against Israel.
In the latest operation targeting Israel, Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Salih announced Thursday that the group launched a wave of drones toward Tel Aviv. He claimed that the attack “successfully achieved its objective as the drones reached their targets without being confronted or shot down by the enemy.”
Salih also praised the fighters fighting Israeli forces in Gaza and Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground offensive on Monday, adding that the group “will continue to fight against Israel’s enemies until the invasion stops and the siege ends.” “We will continue military operations.” The act in the Gaza Strip will be lifted and the invasion of Lebanon will be stopped. ”
On Wednesday, a day after the Iranian missile attack, Salih claimed another successful Ansar Allah operation against Israel, with three Quds 5 cruise missiles attacking Israeli military positions. He praised Iran’s missile strikes and said Ansar Allah was ready to “participate in any joint military operation against Israel’s enemies.”
Ansar Allah also claimed to have targeted the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Cordelia Moon in the Red Sea, and later shared explosive footage of the attack. The ship is one of more than 100 ships attacked by the group since November last year.
The Pentagon is deploying additional assets to the region in response to the Ansar Allah operation to thwart attacks on Israel and commercial shipping. The United States launched a direct attack on Yemen in January, prompting threats of retaliation from the group, which has continued its attacks, with some targeting U.S. warships and multiple U.S. MQ-9 Reaper attacks. They even shot down a drone.
Israel also carried out strikes against Yemen for the time being in July, after Ansar Allah drones struck central Tel Aviv and then evaded air defenses. Israeli warplanes struck Yemen again on Sunday following continued attacks by the group.
“We know how to reach very far, we know how to reach even further, and we know how to attack there precisely,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Helj Halevi said at the time. Ta. “This is not a message. This is an action, and an action with a message.”
A few days earlier, after Mr. Amer praised the murdered Mr. Nasrallah and offered to “support our brothers in Hezbollah with all our might and without restrictions,” an IDF spokesperson told Barron’s: “The IDF will We are prepared to take decisive action against the group.” or any organization, including the Houthis, that threatens the sovereignty of Israel or the security of its people. ”
On Friday, shortly before the IDF announced that two soldiers had been killed and 20 others injured in a drone attack claimed by another Axis of Resistance movement in Iraq, an IDF spokesperson told Barron’s: In contrast, he spoke about an incident supported by Iran. “A ring of fire around Israel.”
Ansar Allah supporters hold Hezbollah flags during an anti-Israel and anti-US rally in Sanaa, Yemen, September 27. Ansar Allah supporters hold Hezbollah flags during an anti-Israel and anti-US rally in Sanaa, Yemen, September 27. Osama Abdulrahman/AP
Ansar Allah has established itself as the dominant force in Yemen since first seizing Sanaa during the civil war a decade ago. The group, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, has been fighting the country’s still internationally recognized government for years, but a UN-backed ceasefire has largely prevailed in the country since April 2022. .
Riyadh and Tehran have since improved bilateral relations despite the current tensions in the Middle East. But Saudi Arabia and many neighboring Arab states continue to accuse Iran of supplying the group with advanced weapons, a charge the Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied.
Although Yemen is more than 1,000 miles from Israel, Ansar Allah’s long-range attack capabilities, as well as its proximity to shipping lanes and facilities vital to global energy trade, have made the group a key player in the broader conflict engulfing the region. The strategic role of Over the past year.
This position could be particularly critical as Israel plans to respond to Iran’s recent missile attacks and Tehran considers its own options for further escalation.
This is developing news. More information will be added as it becomes available.
