CENTCOM Commander: Tehran Supplies Weapons to Houthis; Alliance of Iran, China, and Russia is Concerning

The senior commander of the U.S. Central Command, on Thursday, April 2, during a session with the House Armed Services Committee, stated that Tehran is supplying weapons to the Houthis and must pay the costs of this action. He further added, "The alliance of Iran with China and Russia is dangerous for the world." Michael Kurilla, in this meeting, urged the U.S. government and international organizations to make more efforts to prevent Iran from providing arms to its proxy groups. He also called on the United Nations to activate the ship inspection mechanism to prevent arms smuggling to insurgent groups. The CENTCOM commander dismissed the Houthis' claims of supporting the residents of Gaza as "ridiculous," adding, "This group, despite claiming to support the people of Gaza, has not provided even a loaf of bread for them." Kurilla also described the growing alliance between the Islamic Republic of Iran, China, and Russia as "very concerning" and having "global consequences," stating, "Now the Iranian government relies on China, and the Russian government relies on the Iranian government. Despite U.S. sanctions, Tehran sells 90% of its oil to China, thus, in reality, China financially supports the destructive and malicious behavior of the Islamic Republic in the region. The Iranian government provides hundreds of drones to Russia and has even reached a point where they have built a factory for the Russians to produce drones themselves." The senior commander of U.S. Central Command also stated on February 17 that the Islamic Republic has turned the Middle East into a "center of crises" and that the key to deterrence is for Tehran to understand that this behavior will have bad consequences for it. Michael Kurilla added, "The Islamic Republic has entered the Middle East into crisis by providing military support to Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen, and by operationalizing all its proxy forces in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, has placed the region in the most unstable situation in the last 50 years." Last week, G7 member countries also warned about the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Iranian government to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, stating, "In the event of this transfer, we are prepared for a rapid and coordinated response, including new and significant actions against Iran." CENTCOM forces and the coalition shot down 15 Houthi drones. There were "two explosions" near a ship in the Gulf of Aden; the crew was unharmed. The CENTCOM commander stated: The Islamic Republic has turned the Middle East into a "center of crises."