White House National Security Advisor: The Islamic Republic has enabled attacks on ships in the Red Sea

Following four attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on three commercial vessels in international waters of the Red Sea, American and European officials have held Iran responsible for these attacks. Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, stated at a press conference on Monday that Washington believes, based on evidence and reasoning, that these attacks, while carried out by the Houthis in Yemen, have been fully enabled by Iran. He continued: "We do not believe that all three attacked ships are linked to Israel. The actions of the Houthis are effectively a threat to international peace and stability and a source of concern, and the U.S. is consulting with its partners to respond and make future decisions and actions." The U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, also confirmed in a statement four attacks on Sunday against three commercial vessels in international waters of the Red Sea, stating that the USS Carney destroyer responded to the calls of these vessels and assisted them. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, announced that although there is no evidence that the Iran-backed Houthis intended to target U.S. warships, the U.S. Navy has responded in recent weeks by downing drones and missiles fired by this Tehran-backed group. Britain condemned the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of being responsible for these attacks due to its support for the Houthi militants. Meanwhile, Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said on Monday that in a call with Amir-Abdollahian, he urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to use its influence and actively work to prevent further escalation of conflicts in the region. Since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in mid-October, the United States has held the Houthis responsible for a series of attacks in the waters of the Middle East. The Houthis, who control most of Yemen's Red Sea coast, had previously fired ballistic missiles and suicide drones towards Israel and have committed to targeting more Israeli ships. Given the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and separate attacks by Iran-backed militants against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, U.S. national security officials are concerned about the risk of sudden and deadly regional escalation. The U.S. has repeatedly stated that it has sent messages to Iran not to widen the scope of the military conflict between Hamas and Israel. To demonstrate its seriousness regarding this warning, the U.S. has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region, one of which, the Eisenhower strike group, has entered the Persian Gulf.