Netanyahu warns Iran: Israel will take action over Red Sea aggression

The Israeli prime minister warned Tehran that further attacks on vessels in the Straits of Bab al-Mandab would be met with force by an international coalition that includes Israel.

By: World Israel News Staff

Just days after Iran’s proxy in Yemen, the Houthi rebel group, attacked a Saudi commercial vessel heading for Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran that an international coalition, including Israel, is prepared to respond to further provocation.

“Earlier this week, we witnessed a sharp clash with Iran’s satellites who tried to sabotage international shipping in the Straits at the mouth of the Red Sea,” Netanyahu announced at a naval officer graduation event, reported Haaretz.

The incident to which Netanyahu referred involved a Saudi tanker delivering a massive shipment of oil to Egypt, which came under missile fire from Houthi rebels based in Yemen. The rebels immediately took credit for the attack.

This group receives arms and funding from Iran, joining Tehran’s roster of terror groups and proxy armies throughout the region, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In his comments at the naval ceremony, Netanyhau vowed that if Iran attempted to block the Straits of Bab al-Mandab, it would face repercussions from an “international coalition … includ[ing] the State of Israel and all its arms.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was also on hand at the ceremony, where he stated, “The Israeli military is ready to respond simultaneously on two fronts, and also on the Red Sea.” With regard to the latter location, Liberman cautioned that Israel “would be less selective and the harm to our enemies would be greater.”

With the Red Sea recognized as one of the most important shipping lanes in the word, attacks by Iranian proxies threaten a major route through which oil is transported to various locations throughout the world.

IranNetanyahuSaudi ArabiaStraits of Bab al-Mandab