Hezbollah, Iran condemn US, UK strikes against Houthis

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has condemned the US and UK’s overnight strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, as countries across the Middle East express fears over the latest escalation of the conflict in the region.

Although anxiety was widespread, most vocal were countries and militant groups backed by Tehran, which accused the US and the UK of destabilising the region, The Guardian reports.

In a statement issued in the immediate aftermath of the strikes, Hezbollah said it “strongly condemn[ed] the blatant American-British aggression” against Yemen, which it said had stood with the Palestinian people. ‏

“The American aggression confirms once again that US is a full partner in the tragedies and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza and in the region. It is the one that continues to support the machine of killing and destruction, and to cover up its aggression and crime and the attacks on everyone who stands by the oppressed Palestinian people throughout the region.”

Hezbollah, like the Houthis and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, has allied itself with Hamas in the war with Israel in Gaza, and has been involved in almost daily exchanges of fire with Israel across the Lebanon-Israel frontier since 8 October, the day after Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Iran itself was also quick to condemn the attacks. “These attacks are a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws. These attacks will only contribute to insecurity and instability in the region.”

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani described the strikes as “an arbitrary action”, adding that the international community should be taking action to prevent the spread of war.

Hamas said on January 12 that it strongly condemned the strikes on Yemen, adding that the US and Britain would bear responsibility for the impact of their attack on the security of the region.

But it was not only those seen as aligned with Iran who expressed concern on Friday.

Saudi Arabia, which has in recent months engaged in peace talks with Yemen’s Houthis, issued a statement calling for escalation to be avoided, adding it was monitoring the situation with “great concern”. It said: “The kingdom emphasises the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, as the freedom of navigation in it is an international demand.”

Saudi is deeply concerned that the attacks will destabilise the delicate plans it has authored, and now passed to the UN, to create a new national Yemen government in which the Houthi rebels would be legitimised, allowing Riyadh to extricate itself from its nine-year effort to crush them.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, the site of a major US military base, had already urged the US not to resort to military action, saying: “From Qatar’s policy perspective, we never see a military action as a resolution. Our biggest worry is to have consequences that will keep us in a loop that will never end and will create real tension in the entire region.”

Oman, a key mediator in Yemen, closed its airspace to Israel as a sign of disapproval.

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, also issued a statement describing the country’s concern at developments in the Red Sea region and their impact on regional security, according to the state news agency Petra. In pointed remarks, Jordan added that the failure of the international community to “restrain” Israel had allowed Israel to expose the security of the region to danger.

An adviser to Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, suggested the West was expanding the conflict and increasing tensions in the region.

Yemeni analysts predicted the strikes would strengthen Houthi popularity owing to the general support for the Palestinian cause across the north and south of Yemen.

European support for the strikes was limited. A joint statement issued by 10 countries, including the US and the UK but endorsed by only three EU states, said: “These precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

“Today’s action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks.”

The three EU signatories were Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, although many other EU countries are likely to voice support separately.

Washington will feel certain that the qualified initial vocal support belies strong private backing from Gulf leaders, and the widespread acceptance that freedom of navigation had to be restored in the Red Sea. France, for instance, a country that has refused to join the military action, said the Houthis bore the “extremely serious responsibility” for the escalation because of their refusal to stop attacking ships.

But the US may be concerned by the shrunken active coalition involved in the strikes. Only UK planes took part alongside the US, striking two targets, but the Pentagon claimed support had been given by the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain, the home of the US fifth fleet. By contrast, on 3 January 12 countries had issued a joint final warning to the Houthis to end their attacks on shipping. Countries that signed the statement, but did not join Thursday’s action included Belgium, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, Italy and Japan.

The US announced on 18 December that 20 countries had joined a US-led maritime protection alliance in the Red Sea, termed Operation Prosperity Guardian, but almost half of its claimed membership was never disclosed, and some EU states, notably Spain, pulled out, saying they had not been fully consulted and wanted to set up an alternative EU force. This force would not be under US Navy command and control.

The US will be buoyed that a tough UN Security Council statement on January 9 urging the Houthis to desist was passed by 11 votes to 0 with four abstentions, including Russia. But Moscow was explicit that the resolution was not under Chapter 7 so did not authorise military action. Russia is already demanding an urgent recall of the security council, and may press for a statement condemning the US for taking the escalatory steps the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had been urging the region to avoid.

The Houthis say they are only attacking Israeli-linked ships, in solidarity with Palestine, but the secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, told the UN this week the Houthis were not confining their attacks only to shipping linked to Israel.

In the only sign of Houthi willingness to adjust their course in the face of the attacks, a spokesperson, Mohammad Abdul Salam, emphasised navigation was “safe and normal for all ships except for Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of the Israeli entity”.