Iran slams strikes on Yemen port

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran on Tuesday strongly condemned Israeli air strikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, following missile attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels on Israel’s main airport.

The Israeli military said it hit Houthi positions along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and inland on Monday, alleging they were used to transfer “Iranian weapons” and other military equipment.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei denounced the strikes as “a blatant crime and a gross violation of the principles and rules of international law.”

Baqaei urged international and regional powers to act against what he called ongoing United States and Israeli “destruction” in Islamic countries.

The Houthis said dozens of people were wounded in six strikes on Hodeida port and another attack on Bajil district, blaming “US-Israeli aggression.”

“Three citizens were killed and 35 others wounded” at a cement factory in Bajil, while one person died and four were wounded at Hodeida port, the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV station said, quoting the health ministry.

A US official denied American involvement.

Iran backs the Houthis as part of its so-called “axis of resistance” against Israel, alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian group Hamas.