A senior official of Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement says the country’s armed forces are “eager” to engage in a confrontation with the United States in case of escalating tensions in the strategic Red Sea.
Mohammad al-Bakhiti, a member of Ansarallah’s politburo, made the remarks on Friday, saying, “Our message to the enemies is that the Yemeni armed forces are eager to confront the main enemy, the United States.”
“Just as Yemen won the moral battle against the US coalition, it will win any military battle if it is attacked.”
The US administration has announced the planned formation of a multinational task force under the pretext of protecting shipping in the Red Sea following Yemen’s retaliatory attacks on Israeli-owned and -bound vessels in support of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Ansarallah official underlined that, “If the US warships attack Yemen, they will be targeted directly and the Americans are aware of the seriousness of this decision.”
Pointing to the rejection of Arab and Muslim countries to join the US-led task force in the Red Sea, Bakhiti said, “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not participate in the international coalition to protect Israeli ships and this is a positive point.”
The member of Ansarallah’s politburo described the Yemeni armed forces’ battle in the Red Sea as “defensive” but warned that it may change in the future if the war continues.
The popular resistance movement announced on Thursday that the international waterways as well as the Red Sea are secure for all passing vessels, except for Israeli ones or those heading towards the occupied territories.
Over the past month, the Yemeni resistance movement and Yemen’s Armed Forces have been staging missile and drone attacks against vessels heading towards Israeli ports in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has come under an unrelenting genocidal Israeli war.
On Wednesday, Yemeni Defense Minister Major General Mohammad al-Atifi warned Israel of a very harsh response if the genocidal war on Gaza does not stop.
“We are ready to deliver the harshest, most painful and powerful blow to the enemies if they continue to commit crimes against the Palestinian nation, or if they seek to violate and harm Yemen’s security and sovereignty.”
The Israeli regime launched its devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed more than 21,000 people, most of them women and children. Over 55,000 individuals have also been wounded.
The Yemeni forces have vowed to keep up their strikes until the regime stops the war and lifts a crippling siege that it has been enforcing on Gaza.
