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Iranian Ships Turn Back After a Warning About Arming Rebels in Yemen - WSJ
WASHINGTON—An Iranian flotilla suspected of carrying weapons bound for rebels in Yemen has reversed course and appeared to be heading home, averting a potential confrontation in the Gulf of Aden, U.S. defense officials said Thursday.
The cargo ships, accompanied by two Iranian warships, shifted course as a U.S. aircraft carrier moved within 200 nautical miles of the flotilla and Saudi Arabian officials said their sailors would attempt to search the ships if they tried to dock in Yemen.
U.S. defense officials said it was too soon to tell Thursday if a crisis had been averted. But initial indications suggested that the Iranian ships had abandoned an attempt to challenge the Saudi-led effort to prevent arms from reaching Houthi rebels in Yemen.
U.S. and Saudi officials have been keeping an eye on at least nine Iranian ships suspected of carrying weapons and supplies to Houthi fighters who have taken over much of Yemen.
On Tuesday, the U.S. military sent the USS Theodore Roosevelt and several other warships to the Gulf of Aden to send a warning to Iran not to challenge a United Nations arms embargo on the Houthis.
Saudi officials warned Iran that its sailors would try to search any ship that tried to dock in Yemen. And President Barack Obama said the U.S. had directly warned Iran not to send any weapons into a country that has been consumed by conflict.
“What we’ve said to them is that if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that’s a problem,” Mr. Obama said on MSNBC earlier this week. “And we’re not sending them obscure messages, we send them very direct messages about it.”
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been carrying out nearly a month of airstrikes on Houthi fighters who have sought to take control of the major cities in Yemen, including the port of Aden.
Under pressure from the U.S., Saudi Arabia earlier this week announced it was curtailing its airstrikes against the rebels in Yemen as it tried to shift its focus to finding a political solution to the problem. But new strikes, apparently carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, hit weapons depots and other military installations in Yemen Thursday.
WASHINGTON—An Iranian flotilla suspected of carrying weapons bound for rebels in Yemen has reversed course and appeared to be heading home, averting a potential confrontation in the Gulf of Aden, U.S. defense officials said Thursday.
The cargo ships, accompanied by two Iranian warships, shifted course as a U.S. aircraft carrier moved within 200 nautical miles of the flotilla and Saudi Arabian officials said their sailors would attempt to search the ships if they tried to dock in Yemen.
U.S. defense officials said it was too soon to tell Thursday if a crisis had been averted. But initial indications suggested that the Iranian ships had abandoned an attempt to challenge the Saudi-led effort to prevent arms from reaching Houthi rebels in Yemen.
U.S. and Saudi officials have been keeping an eye on at least nine Iranian ships suspected of carrying weapons and supplies to Houthi fighters who have taken over much of Yemen.
On Tuesday, the U.S. military sent the USS Theodore Roosevelt and several other warships to the Gulf of Aden to send a warning to Iran not to challenge a United Nations arms embargo on the Houthis.
Saudi officials warned Iran that its sailors would try to search any ship that tried to dock in Yemen. And President Barack Obama said the U.S. had directly warned Iran not to send any weapons into a country that has been consumed by conflict.
“What we’ve said to them is that if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that’s a problem,” Mr. Obama said on MSNBC earlier this week. “And we’re not sending them obscure messages, we send them very direct messages about it.”
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been carrying out nearly a month of airstrikes on Houthi fighters who have sought to take control of the major cities in Yemen, including the port of Aden.
Under pressure from the U.S., Saudi Arabia earlier this week announced it was curtailing its airstrikes against the rebels in Yemen as it tried to shift its focus to finding a political solution to the problem. But new strikes, apparently carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, hit weapons depots and other military installations in Yemen Thursday.
