By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2023-10-20

ADEN -- A US Navy ship in the Red Sea on Thursday (October 19) shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the Pentagon said.

Three "land-attack cruise missiles and several drones" were intercepted by a destroyer, said Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

The attack was "launched by Houthi forces in Yemen" potentially toward targets in Israel, he added.

USS Carney was patrolling in the Red Sea as part of a heavily reinforced US military presence ordered by President Joe Biden to maintain stability in the wake of war between Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

Ryder said there were no US casualties and that the intercepted missiles likely fell in open water, not over land.

"We cannot say for certain what these missiles were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea," he said.

Ryder also detailed drone attacks on US facilities in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Tanf garrison in Syria was targeted by two drones on Wednesday, he said.

"US and coalition forces engaged one drone destroying it while the other drone impacted the base resulting in minor injuries to coalition forces," Ryder said.

At the same time, early warning systems indicated a possible threat approaching Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq's Anbar province, which has been attacked with drones by Iran-backed militias on previous occasions.

Separately in northern Iraq, US forces engaged and destroyed a drone resulting in no injuries or damage, Ryder said.

"We have the capability to defend our broader interests in the region and to deter regional escalation and broader expansion of the conflict that began with Hamas's attack on Israeli civilians," he said.

An Iranian puppet

In a speech delivered October 10, the Houthis' leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said he is in full coordination with "the axis of jihad and resistance" with regard to the events in Gaza.

Al-Houthi asserted his readiness to participate in the Hamas-Israel war with missile bombardment, drones and other available military options.

But his speech was met with distain by many in Yemen.

"The hypocrisy of Iran, its arms in the region and the so-called 'axis of resistance' regarding Palestine has been exposed to the Arab street," political analyst Fares al-Beel told Al-Fassel, commenting on the speech.

The Houthis kill Yemeni children and then cry over the children of Palestine, he said.

Political analyst Faisal Ahmed told Al-Fassel that al-Houthi's statements "have become a source of ridicule in the Yemeni street."

"Al-Houthi refused to pay the salaries of [government] employees and at the same time is offering his services to take part in the war in Gaza," he said.

Ahmed said al-Houthi ignited the war in Yemen "to serve Iran and its interests, namely undermining the security and stability of the peoples of the Arab region."

His recent speech was made in service of Iran and on Iranian orders, once again proving he is "a puppet in the hands of Iran," he said.

"Al-Houthi's participation in the war against Israel requires diverting the country's resources to that war, while Yemen is in dire need of all available resources to combat hunger and poverty," Ahmed said.

Carrying out Iran's orders

"Iran and its arms in the region have proven to the citizens of Arab countries that they are a phenomenon searching for a political role," said Yemeni Deputy Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Nabil Abdul Hafeez.

"They are not sincere with regard to Arab issues," he told Al-Fassel. "The Houthi and Hizbullah militias are nothing but tools in the hands of Iran and daggers in the side of this nation in service of Iran's interests."

Al-Houthi would not take any action against Israel "unless Iran requested it," Abaad Center for Strategic Studies director Abdul Salam Mohammed told Al-Fassel, speaking a day ahead of the Red Sea incident.

"Al-Houthi's achievement of urgent objectives for Iran at this stage would involve the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait, which may witness military operations and disruptions," he predicted.

As part of its efforts to prevent a spillover of violence from the Israel-Hamas war, the United States has ordered increased air and naval assets -- including dispatching two aircraft carriers -- to the Middle East.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon also ordered 2,000 personnel on standby for potential deployment.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the deployment would allow the United States "to respond more quickly" to the crisis, while the White House stressed it did not intend to put US combat forces on the ground.