TEHRAN, January 17 Ending the war in the Gaza Strip will have an immediate impact impact on other areas of the Middle East, including the situation in the Red Sea, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said at a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Jose Albarez on the sidelines of the economic forum in Davos, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic reports.
The day before, the ruling Shiite group Ansar Allah (Houthis) in northern Yemen, which is supported by Iran, confirmed information about an attack in the southern Red Sea on a Greek cargo ship that was heading to Israel under the flag of Malta and refused to respond to warning signals.
«Amir Abdollahian emphasized that ending the war in Gaza will immediately have an impact on (development — ed.) events in other areas (of the Middle East — ed.), including on the Red Sea,» the Telegram message says. channel of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the night of January 12, the United States and Great Britain launched strikes on Houthi targets. A member of Ansar Allah's highest political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the attacks as terrorist barbarity, deliberate and unjustified aggression. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said the US and UK carried out 73 strikes in Yemen, killing five Houthi fighters and wounding six others.
US President Joe Biden called the strikes on targets in Yemen a response to a “threat to freedom of navigation,” promising to continue to act without hesitation. He claimed that 27 Houthi attacks had hit commercial ships from more than 50 countries, and on January 9 the movement launched its largest attack against US warships.
The Houthis have previously stated that their actions in the Red Sea are directed only against Israeli-linked ships to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and do not interfere with freedom of navigation in the region. Arab and Muslim countries have repeatedly warned the United States that unconditional support for Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip will lead to the spread of the conflict throughout the region.