On Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran issued a stern warning, vowing to deliver a “decisive” response to any form of aggression following US President Donald Trump’s orders for airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen. Trump had stated on Saturday that the US had carried out “decisive and powerful military action” to neutralize the Houthi threat to maritime traffic in the Red Sea and demanded that Iran cease its backing of the group “immediately.” A health official from the Houthi faction reported that the attacks resulted in 31 deaths.
In a televised address on Sunday, the leader of Iran’s Guards, Hossein Salami, rejected Trump’s threats and declared, “Iran will not wage war, but if anyone threatens, it will give appropriate, decisive and conclusive responses.” He further emphasized that the Houthis were “the representative of the Yemenis,” asserting that the group made its “strategic and operational decisions” on its own.
This recent exchange follows a long-standing history of tensions between the US and Iran, which escalated in January 2020, when the US killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s foreign operations division, in a drone strike in Baghdad. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on US military bases in Iraq, although no American fatalities were reported, with several suffering traumatic brain injuries.
Earlier on Sunday, Esmaeil Baqaei, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, condemned the US airstrikes as a “gross violation of the principles of the UN Charter” and called them “brutal.”
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top diplomat, further criticized the US, stating that Washington had “no authority” to influence Tehran’s foreign policy. He reiterated that the time when the US could dictate Iran’s international actions ended in 1979, following the Islamic Revolution that deposed the Western-backed shah. Araghchi took to X (formerly Twitter), asserting, “The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy,” while calling for an end to the “killing of Yemeni people.”
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also called on the US to halt its strikes, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday. Lavrov, in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urged the cessation of military actions and emphasized the need for political dialogue to avoid further violence. The Russian ministry’s statement noted that Lavrov had underscored the importance of engaging in negotiations to find a peaceful resolution.
The Houthis, who have been in control of much of Yemen for over ten years, align themselves with the “axis of resistance,” a coalition of pro-Iran groups committed to the destruction of Israel and opposing US influence.
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