As speculation has intensified in political and media circles about the possibility of U.S. military action against the Iranian regime, Yemen’s Houthis and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, two proxy groups of the Iranian regime, have adopted threatening positions and declared that they are ready to enter the conflict.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the Houthis of Yemen threatened on Monday, January 26, that they would resume their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The group also released images of a ship on fire and wrote in the caption: “Soon.”
The Associated Press wrote that this threat was likely issued in response to the strengthening of the U.S. military presence in the region and the increased likelihood of action against the Iranian regime.
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Shortly after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict, the Houthis began attacking international shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, endangering maritime security in the region. The group has also repeatedly attempted to target Israeli territory.
After a ceasefire was established in the Gaza war, the Houthis ended their attacks in regional waters, but they have consistently warned that they are ready to resume their destabilizing actions if deemed necessary.
Reports indicate that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East and has been deployed near Iran.
On the other side, Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to the possibility of a U.S. attack by threatening that Iran’s government would “certainly respond decisively, with full force, and comprehensively.”
Kataib Hezbollah of Iraq threatens a “large-scale war”
Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the secretary general of Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, said in a statement—echoing the positions and rhetoric of Iranian regime officials—that a battle with the Iranian regime would not be easy.
He described the support of the “forces of resistance” for Iran’s regime as “necessary” and called on the “brothers in the east and west of the world” to be ready for a “large-scale war” in support of the Iranian regime.
Hamidawi added that the “mujahid brothers” must prepare themselves for “one of two good outcomes, martyrdom or victory.”
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“Axis of Resistance” is the term used by officials and media of the Iranian regime to refer to armed groups supported by Tehran in the region, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), and Yemen’s Houthis.
These remarks by the Iraqi militia figure about developments in Iran come as the Iranian regime has in recent weeks accused protesting citizens of links to “foreigners” and “enemies,” and has described international support for the Iranian people’s national revolution as “interference” in its internal affairs.
CNN had previously reported that Kataib Hezbollah and several other Iraqi armed groups had sent their forces to Iran to assist the Iranian regime in the deadly suppression of protesters.
