- US President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities puts the Middle East in a volatile position, with all eyes now on Tehran’s next move.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday his country has “a variety of options” when deciding how to respond to the US attacks.
- From striking US bases in the region, to possibly closing a key waterway to global shipping, Iran is likely mulling its next moves.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they would act on their earlier commitment to strike US ships in the Red Sea after the United States launched airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran on Sunday, in a major flare-up of tensions in West Asia, reports News18.
“We affirm the Republic of Yemen’s commitment to the armed forces’ declaration that they were ready to target US ships and warships in the Red Sea,” said the Houthis in a statement after the US launched attacks on Iran on early Sunday.
The Iran-backed group expressed solidarity with the Iranian people and said the “Trump administration’s reckless aggression against three Iranian nuclear sites is a blatant declaration of war against the brotherly Iranian people.”
On Saturday, the Houthis had threatened to target the American warships in the Red Sea if the US backed Israel in its ongoing strikes on Iran. Notably, the US and the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire in May, under which neither side would target the other.
Tensions Reach All-Time High
Tensions escalated dramatically in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump announced that the United States had completed a “very successful attack” on three nuclear sites in Iran – including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Qatar, host of the biggest US military base in the Middle East, on Sunday said it feared serious repercussions after US air strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. Oman, which was mediating nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, also condemned the strikes.
The Houthis have waded into the Gaza conflict with attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea as a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. They claimed attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Gulf of Aden.
The US and Britain had retaliated with air strikes against the Houthis as part of international efforts to restore the free flow of trade along a key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world’s shipping traffic, before a ceasefire was announced in May.
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Source: News18
