Iranian MP Says Houthi Attacks On Israel Follow Khamenei Wish

An Iranian ultraconservative lawmaker claims Houthis have targeted Israeli ships following public statements against Israel by Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei.

Mahmoud Abbaszadeh-Meshkini, who sits on the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said, “Resistance forces are prepared to handle a variety of scenarios.”

Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi have urged Islamic countries to impose economic sanctions against Israel since its retaliatory strikes against Hamas and the ground offensive in Gaza. Tehran demanded an oil embargo and measures to impede Israeli trade.

The Houthis are part of the so-called "Axis of Resistance" which also includes Lebanon's Hezbollah; a coalition of Iranian-supported armed groups that fight Israeli and American forces in the region.

Following Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, Iranian proxy forces have attacked American and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria and launched missiles toward Israel.

In a statement released yesterday, the Houthis, who control Yemen's capital amid a civil conflict, vowed to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which is a critical route for trade and oil tankers.

"Exports of oil and food to the Zionist regime must be blocked," Khamenei said in a televised address on November 1.

Similarly, as part of his 10 proposals at the Arab Summit in Riyadh, President Ebrahim Raisi proposed a boycott of Israeli goods and a cutoff of all economic relations with Israel, primarily in the area of energy.

Meshkini has also initiated an impeachment proceeding against the Iranian foreign minister, in protest over government policies which he claims are too soft towards Israel.