Iraqi armed group leader backs Houthi threat to close Bab al-Mandeb
The leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi armed group has urged Yemen’s Houthis to press ahead with closing the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait unless Gulf states lift their decade-long blockade on Yemen.
Abu Ala al-Walai, commander of Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, made the statement late on Friday, the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported.
“The philosophy of deterrence is not exclusive to nuclear weapons,” al-Walai said, adding “the peoples of the resistance” have been given a geographic position that makes them uniquely able to influence global trade routes.
Defending the Houthis’ maritime threats against the backdrop of the Saudi-led blockade in place since 2015, he said Yemenis have the right to close the strait if “the doors of life are closed” on them.
“Open the doors of the blockade on Yemen, and the strait will be opened for you. But if you squeeze them, the strait will squeeze you,” he said.
Al-Walai’s faction is one of three Tehran-backed armed groups that have refused to disarm as Iraq’s government seeks to bring factions operating outside state control into the official security apparatus by September 30.
The comments come as the Houthis threaten to block Bab al-Mandeb during a sharp escalation with Saudi Arabia.
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Iranian army spokesman claims ‘almost all’ US infrastructure in Erbil destroyed
Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia has claimed on Iranian state television that “almost all” US military infrastructure has been destroyed during recent attacks by the IRGC on Erbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, as reported by the Anadolu news agency.
Akraminia claimed Tehran was now deploying newer attack drones with greater accuracy and were more advanced than the Arash-2.
He added that Iran had inflicted serious damage on US military bases across the region, claiming many of them had lost much of their operational capability.
The spokesman added that Iran was prepared to continue military operations “until the Americans realise they cannot impose their will on the Iranian nation through aggression”.
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