Iran warns against proposed US-backed Red Sea force
"Nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance," Iran's Defence Minister said, referring to the Red Sea.
American and French navies have strengthened their presence in the Red Sea to protect vessels from the risk of seizure or attack by the Houthis. / Photo: Reuters Archive
Iran has warned that a proposed US-backed multinational task force to protect shipping in the Red Sea would face "extraordinary problems".
There is "no room" in the region for outsiders to have such maneuvers, Iran's Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said in statements, cited by the semi-official ISNA news agency on Thursday.
"If they make such an irrational move, they will be faced with extraordinary problems," Ashtiani said.
Ashtiani did not specify what measures Iran was prepared to take in response to the setting up of a US-backed Red Sea task force.
Risk of seizure, attack
The announcement came amid a string of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea reportedly traveling toward Israel, carried out by Yemen's Houthis.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters last week that Washington was in talks with "other countries" over forming a "maritime task force ... to ensure safe passage of ships in the Red Sea," but did not give further details.
Yemen's Houthis, which are aligned with Iran, have waded into the Israel's war on Gaza by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel more than 1,000 miles from their seat of power in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
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