DAccording to a report by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are threatening to blockade the Mediterranean. The United States and its allies should prepare to close the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar and other waterways if crimes continue in the Gaza Strip, Tasnim quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi as saying.
Iran has no direct access to the Mediterranean. He is allied, among others, with the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Naqdi spoke of “the birth of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways,” according to Tasnim. It was initially unclear how exactly the Revolutionary Guards wanted to block the shipping routes.
The United States has toughened its tone toward Iran amid attacks by Yemen's Houthis on merchant ships in the Red Sea. “We know that Iran was instrumental in planning the operations against merchant ships in the Red Sea,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson on Friday (local time). Washington has “no reason to believe that Iran is trying to to dissuade the Houthis from this reckless behavior.”
Attacks with drones and missiles
According to intelligence released by the White House, Tehran has provided the Houthis with drones and missiles as well as intelligence information. The analysis found a nearly identical match between Iranian drones and missiles launched by the Houthis, the White House said.
In addition, the Houthis are dependent on the maritime surveillance systems provided by Iran. In addition, the tactical information provided by Iran was “crucial” to the Houthi attacks on merchant ships that began in November, Watson said.
Since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas, the Iran-aligned Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and rockets at Israel and most recently attacked ships in the Red Sea several times. According to the US Department of Defense, the Houthi rebels launched more than 100 attacks with drones and missiles on a total of ten merchant ships. The wave of Houthi attacks on container ships has caused many freighters to avoid sailing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. In recent days, several shipping companies have announced that they will be suspending trips through the strait.
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