Iran hails Houthi rebels, deploys warship as Red Sea simmers

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed “gratitude and appreciation” for Yemen’s Houthi rebels over their support for the Gaza Strip, the government-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday. 

At a meeting in Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian told Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam that the Shiite rebels had been “firm and robust” in defending the Palestinians in the wake of the ongoing war. 

Abdulsalam’s visit occurred at the height of growing regional tensions rooted in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The militants have been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea with drones and missiles in what they say is “retaliation” for the Israeli attacks on Gaza. 

On the day Abdulsalam sat down with Iranian officials, Iran’s navy announced the deployment of a flotilla of warships to the strategic waterway. The convoy, which includes the Alborz destroyer, has already passed through the Bab el-Mandab Strait, state media said.