US-Middle East

The administration of US President Joe Biden came under fire from lawmakers over the lack of congressional approval to conduct military strikes against Yemen’s Houthis and defend foreign ships in the Red Sea.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, in a meeting with the UN Secretary General Antoni Guterres, strongly condemned the US’ attempts to escalate tensions in the Red Sea and Yemen, warning that Washington's actions will ruin joint efforts by Tehran and the United Nations to bring calm to the region.

Yemen’s defense minister has praised the ongoing naval operations by the country’s military against Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in support of Gaza, stressing that the era of “hegemonic influence” of Washington and its allies on international waters is over.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani strongly condemned the fresh round of air attacks by the US and the UK against Yemen. He stressed that the joint move will only escalate insecurity and instability in the region without any achievement for Washington and London.

The United States and the United Kingdom have bombed more than a dozen Houthi sites in Yemen, officials said, as the Yemeni group stepped up its attacks on ships in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

US officials are increasingly questioning the effectiveness of military methods in combating the Houthi fighters in Yemen, who continue their military operation in the Red Sea in response to the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict, CNN reported, citing US officials in the know.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has reportedly changed its position to a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and proposed a UN resolution calling on Israel to cancel its planned military operation in the besieged enclave’s last refuge for displaced civilians.

Houthi fighters have attempted to use a submersible drone for the first time, but it was destroyed in yet another wave of US-led coalition attacks on Yemeni soil over the weekend, the US Central Command has claimed.

A number of Arab countries are reportedly “increasingly restricting” the United States and its allies from conducting attacks from their soil against Iran and resistant groups in the West Asia region amid the Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Iraq has announced that it has resumed negotiations with the United States on the future of the coalition, expressing hope that they would not be disrupted and lead to an outcome soon.

The US carried out a drone strike in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday night that killed three members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a senior commander. The US  Central Command (CENTCOM) has taken responsibility for the raid.

Retired US Marine General James Mattis was hired in 2015 to advise the United Arab Emirates about the Saudi-led war on Yemen, the Washington Post has reported. Mattis did not publicly disclose the gig when he became secretary of defense in 2017.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has stated the US-led military coalition, purportedly formed to fight the Daesh terrorist group, will eventually end its mission in the Arab country.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has rejected allegations that Tehran provides military and financial aid for resistance groups in the region, including Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

A Houthi military spokesman has said the Yemeni group fighters have conducted two operations against US and British vessels off the nation's coast, stressing their support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amidst intensified Israeli attacks.

Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani has strongly condemned the United States’ recent air raids on Iraq and Syria as illegal and a blatant violation of international law and the the UN charter. He was addressing a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security on Monday.

Some member states of the United Nations Security Council have criticized the US over last week’s air raids on several targets in Syria and Iraq to avenge the killing of three of its service personnel in Jordan.

Washington has admitted it did not notify the Iraqi government before its recent airstrikes in the country after a top White House official claimed Baghdad had been informed in advance.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has stated that the Iraqi government should work with the US to combat "the threats" posed by militia groups on its own soil.

The United States and the United Kingdom have launched more airstrikes against Hudaydah and Sa’ada provinces in Yemen.

Yemen's Houthi movement has announced that the latest wave of airstrikes by the United States and the United Kingdom on the war-ravaged country will not go unpunished.

The US and UK say they have launched strikes against 36 targets linked to the Houthis in Yemen, targeting buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities.

US airstrikes on Iraq on Friday killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and injured 25 others, according to a statement by the Iraqi government spokesperson.

Iran's foreign minister says the US strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria is the continuation of Washington's failed and wrong approach.

The Syrian military has announced that the US airstrikes that targeted parts of Syria late on Friday killed civilians and military personnel and caused "significant damage".