Iran navy escorting Iranian commercial ships to Red Sea
DUBAI—Iran’s navy is escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea, Naval Commander Shahram Irani said on Wednesday, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
The move follows the first-ever direct Iranian attack on Israel, carried out in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus.
Iran is bracing for a possible Israeli retaliation, with Israel’s war Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss a response.
“The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view,” Irani said.
Tehran was ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.
The Red Sea has seen significant disruption to Israel-bound shipping due to attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
Heightened tensions
On April 13, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the MSC Aries, a Portuguese-flagged container ship which Tehran says is linked to Israel.
Israel and Iran traded threats after Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe sharply heightened tensions in a region already on edge after six months of war in Gaza.
The war in the besieged territory and its soaring civilian toll have revived the push for a two-state solution, with the UN Security Council preparing to vote Thursday on full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, according to diplomatic sources.
The United States, meanwhile, announced Tuesday that it was preparing new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program after its weekend attack on Israel, and the EU’s foreign policy chief signaled the bloc would levy new punitive measures as well.
‘Response’ coming
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran would not get off “scot-free” after Tehran and its allies launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel.
“We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Hagari said, a day after Israel’s military chief vowed there would be “a response” to Iran’s attack.
Iran has characterized the barrage as an act of self-defense following a deadly airstrike on its consulate in Syria, saying that it would consider the matter “concluded” unless Israel retaliated.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned that “the slightest action against Iran’s interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response.”
Common adversary
US President Joe Biden has stressed that “the United States is committed to Israel’s security” but wants to prevent the conflict from spreading.
Washington, Israel’s top ally and arms supplier, has made clear it will not join Israel in any retaliatory attack on their common adversary Iran, according to a senior US official.
US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that Washington would “impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program,” as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defense ministry, in the coming days.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Brussels was also working on expanding sanctions against Iran, particularly against its supplies of weaponry—including drones—to Russia and proxy groups around the Middle East. —Reports from AFP, Reuters
