US President Joe Biden says Washington sent a private message to Tehran about Yemen’s anti-Israel naval operations in the Red Sea.
He made the remarks on Saturday after the US bombed Yemen for the second day in a row amid concerns that Washington’s blind support for Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip could escalate regional tensions.
“We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well-prepared,” Biden told reporters at the White House, without elaborating on further details.
In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that Saturday’s assault targeted a Yemeni radar facility and that it was “a follow-on” from joint strikes to degrade the country’s ability to conduct Red Sea operations.
In their first assault on Friday, the US and Britain, backed by Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, struck more than 60 targets at almost 30 locations in Yemen, killing five people and injuring six others.
Yemeni Armed Forces’ spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said “the American-British enemy” had launched a brutal aggression “as part of its support for the continuation of Israeli crime in Gaza,” warning that the raid “will not go unanswered and unpunished.”
The West has claimed that Iran is involved in operations by the Yemeni armed forces on Israeli-owned or Israeli-bound ships in the Red Sea, an allegation rejected by the Islamic republic.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said Tehran “strongly condemns” US-led attacks on Yemen as “an arbitrary action, a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, and a violation of international laws and regulations.”
Israel waged its bloody war on Gaza on October 7 following a historic operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group against the occupying entity. The US has offered untrammeled support for Israel during the devastating onslaught.
In solidarity with the Palestinians in besieged Gaza, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.
In response, the US has formed a military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea and endangered maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.
