An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has slammed the US and UK over their ongoing aggression against Yemen, calling the joint campaign of bombings under the auspices of Operation Prosperity Guardian a blatant violation of international law.
Iran “strongly condemns the US and British military attacks on parts of Sanaa, Hodeidah and other regions of Yemen,” Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in a social media post Saturday night.
“Repeated military aggression by the United States and Britain against Yemen constitutes a blatant infringement of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law. The attacking parties bear international accountability for such unlawful acts,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote.
Baghaei cited the actions of the Yemenis and “other Islamic nations in the region” in response to Israeli actions a “natural reaction to the killing of their Palestinian and Lebanese brothers and sisters,” and emphasized that the military operations by the US and its allies against Yemen “will have no effect on their determination to defend the people of Palestine and Lebanon.”
The spokesman went on to blast Israel over its ongoing military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, suggesting that “the continuation of the occupation, war-mongering and expansionism of the Zionist regime is the main reason for the continued insecurity and instability in the region,” and that an end of attacks on Lebanon and the “genocide in Gaza” were the preconditions “for restoring peace and stability in the region.”
Baghaei’s comments were echoed by Pouria Kolivand, Iran’s representative to the Maritime Environment Protection Committee, as the group convened for its 82nd session in London last week. Parrying “baseless” accusations about Iranian responsibility for the Red Sea security crisis, Kolivand said that “Iran adheres to all its obligations, but America has created insecurity in the region, including in the Red Sea, by supporting the Zionist regime.”
The US and its allies have repeatedly accused Iran of assisting the Houthis in their partial blockade of the Red Sea – which the militia began last November, targeting suspected Israeli and Israeli-affiliated merchant shipping seeking to transit the strategic waterway. Tehran has vocally denied claims of direct assistance, but offered political and moral support for the Houthis as part of the regional anti-US, anti-Israel "Axis of Resistance" alliance composed of Iran, Syria, and militias in Iraq and Lebanon. Iranian media have occasionally also hinted at the provision of technical assistance to the Yemeni militia.
The Houthis launched their Red Sea campaign with the seizure of the Galaxy Leader, a ro-ro cargo ship owned by an Israeli shipping magnate, in a daring helicopter raid on November 19, 2023, and later releasing music videos featuring the captured vessel to taunt their enemies.
As the US stepped in to try to block Houthi ship seizures, the militia ramped up its operations to include drone and missile attacks targeting merchant ships affiliated with Israel, the United States, and any other Western countries. The US assembled a "coalition of the willing" known as Operation Prosperity Guardian last December, and began a campaign of air and missile strikes on Yemen in January 2024 aimed at "degrading" their capabilities. Senior US officials, including President Joe Biden, have admitted that the multi-billion-dollar operation has failed to reach its objectives, but vowed to continue anyway.
The European Union launched its own smaller operation, dubbed Operation Aspides, in February, to escort merchant ships and defend against Houthi strikes, but the scale of these operations has been far smaller and more muted to date, involving only a handful of frigates and destroyers. The EU op has not included bombings inside Yemen. In April, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi called on European countries to withdraw their military assets from the region, saying “there is no danger to the [maritime] navigation of European countries which are not heading toward the Israeli enemy, so they can pass safely.”
In the spring, the Houthis began sending ominous emails to owners of Western shipping companies, warning that their vessels would be targeted if they violated militia-imposed bans on the docking of ships at Israeli ports. “Your ships breached the decision of Yemen Armed Forces,” one email to a Greek shipping company reportedly read. “Therefore, punishments will be imposed on all vessels of your company…Best regards, Yemen Navy.”