Local Editor
Iran sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, establishing a military presence in waters off Yemen where the US military launched cruise missile strikes on areas controlled by Houthi Ansarullah forces.
"Iran’s Alvand and Bushehr warships have been dispatched to the Gulf of Aden to protect trade vessels," Tasnim reported. The Alvand and Bushehr are both destroyers.
Tasnim said the Iranian ships will patrol the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen, which is one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
The announcement comes hours after the US said it had fired cruise missiles at three Houthi-contolled radar stations after anti-ship missiles were fired at a US Navy destroyer.
The missile launches from the USS Nitze on Thursday morning mark the first time the US had directly attacked the Houthi revolutionaries in Yemen.
"These limited self-defence strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway," the US defence department said. "The US will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic."
It added: "Initial assessments show the sites were destroyed."
The US strike came after a second missile launch from Houthi-held territory in Yemen had targeted a US destroyer, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday.
However, the Houthi Ansarullah moveemnt issued a statement denying that they had fired a missile at the US vessel.
"Such claims aim to create false justifications to step up attacks and to cover up for the continuous crimes committed by the (coalition) aggression against the Yemeni people."
Wednesday’s attack involved a "coastal defence cruise missile" fired from a Houthi-controlled area south of al-Hudaida, the US official said.
The USS Mason used countermeasures after detecting the missile at about 6pm local time on Wednesday.
"It is unclear if the countermeasures caused the missile to hit the water, or if it would have hit the water on its own," said the official.
The ship was not hit.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
