The Islamic Republic of Iran was behind a series of terrorist attacks on commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea on Sunday, the U.S. Military said in a statement.
U.S. Central Command said that there were several attacks in international waters against three separate commercial vessels. The ships were connected to 14 different countries.
“At approximately 9:15 a.m. Sanaa time, the CARNEY detected an anti-ship ballistic missile attack fired from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen toward the M/V UNITY EXPLORER, impacting in the vicinity of the vessel,” CENTCOM said.
Approximately three hours later, at 12:00 p.m., the Carney “engaged and shot down a UAV launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen” that was headed toward the Carney.
“In a separate attack at approximately 12:35 p.m., UNITY EXPLORER reported they were struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen,” CENTCOM said. “CARNEY responded to the distress call. While assisting with the damage assessment, CARNEY detected another inbound UAV, destroying the drone with no damage or injuries on the CARNEY or UNITY EXPLORER. UNITY EXPLORER reports minor damage from the missile strike.”
“At approximately 3:30 p.m. the M/V NUMBER 9 was struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen while operating international shipping lanes in the Red Sea,” the statement added. “At approximately 4:30 p.m., the M/V SOPHIE II, sent a distress call stating they were struck by a missile. … While en route to render support, CARNEY shot down a UAV headed in its direction.”
The statement concluded by saying that while the U.S. knows that the attacks were launched by Houthi terrorists in Yemen, the attacks were “fully enabled by Iran.”
“The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners,” the statement said.
The attacks come after multiple commercial shipping vessels have been attacked in recent weeks, including one that was hijacked by Houthi terrorists and its crew taken hostage.
