Iran provides ballistic missile to Houthis in Yemen

The Iranian sea-launched ballistic missile Ghadr has been made available to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“Now, the missile … has become a weapon capable of presenting serious challenges to the interests of the United States and its main ally in the region, the Zionist regime,” Tasnim said.

Iran’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Houthis have upped their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as a show of support for Palestinian Arabs.

In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.

In mid-January, with support from other countries, the US and Britain targeted just under 30 Houthi locations with 150 different weapons. The two countries have continued to strike Houthi targets since.

The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes, saying that the campaign against the “Zionist enemy” will continue and that the attacks against the American and British ships will not stop.

Iran supports the Houthis but has repeatedly denied that it has provided them with weapons.

It has long been believed that Iran is planning to use the Houthis to take over Yemen and seize the key strategic port of Aden, which controls the entrance to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Israeli resort city of Eilat.

Source » israelnationalnews