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US Sending Mixed Messages As Iranian Warships Arrive Near Yemen
A potential showdown at sea, the likes of which has not been seen since John Kennedy ordered the naval blockade of Cuba in 1962, is shaping up off the coast of Yemen.
Earlier this week, the Obama Administration deployed warships off the southern coast of Yemen. One of the stated purposes has been to keep shipping lanes open in the region, including through the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. The strait is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point.
Creative Commons/Bab el Mandeb Strait/NASA
According to Iranian state-sponsored media, the Middle Eastern nation has sent nine ships to the region to “protect the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.” Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stated that “no one can warn the Iranian warships (to move away) and this has not happened yet.” The flotilla includes a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying vessel.
Pentagon spokesman Col Steve Warren told CNN that the Iranian convoy is made up of cargo vessels, leading some to believe the ships are carrying weapons to resupply the Shiite Houthi rebels fighting to gain control of Yemen.
President Barack Obama told MSNBC that the United States has been clear to Tehran about not supplying weapons to the Houthis.
“What we’ve said to them is if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that’s a problem,” Obama said. “We’re not sending them obscure messages, we send them very direct messages about it,” he added.
Meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “I want to be very clear just so that no one has the wrong impression. They are not there to intercept Iranian ships. The purpose of moving them is only to ensure that the shipping lanes remain open and safe.”
However, Pentagon officials, speaking on a condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press Monday that the U.S. warships were being sent specifically to block the Iranian vessels from delivering supplies.
Asked to clarify the U.S. Navy’s mission in the region, White House Communications Director Jen Psaki reiterated to Fox News Wednesday that keeping shipping lanes open is the primary mission of the U.S. Navy operating off the Yemeni coast; she said that “We have a range of abilities” if the Iranians seek to deliver war supplies to the Houthi rebels. “We are hoping this can de-escalate,” she added.
The carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and the guided missile cruiser the U.S.S. Normandy, are among the nine warships the U.S. has deployed to the region.
The U.S. Navy does not have authority to board Iranian ships operating in international waters.
h/t: Free Beacon
Do you think the U.S. should be seeking a nuclear agreement with Iran while it wreaks havoc throughout the region?
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/us-sending-mixed-messages-as-iranian-warships-arrive-near-yemen/
