Iran: US stoking insecuirty in Red Sea by backing Israeli regime

Iran’s representative at the 82nd session of Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has expressed the Islamic Republic’s commitment to international maritime obligations and says the the United States is the source of insecurity in the Red Sea region.

Pouria Kolivand made the statement in response to “baseless” accusations made by a number of certain countries, led by the United States, against Iran at the meeting on the security status of the Red Sea.

“Iran adheres to all its obligations, but America has created insecurity in the region, including in the Red Sea, by supporting the Zionist regime,” Kolivand said.

The 82nd session of MEPC was convened in person at the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Headquarters in London from September 30 to October 4.

The international meeting delved into a range of environmental issues, including proposed mid-term measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, enhancing energy efficiency of shipping, tackling marine litter, ballast water management and underwater noise reduction. 

Kolivand, as Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO)'s representative, personally attended the session but the MEPC's organizers refused to issue visas for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s delegation, which led to their online participation at the meeting.

The Iranian delegation lodged a protest to the move as for the UK's non-compliance with the IMO Conventions regarding the timely issuance of visas, with the organization’s secretary general promising follow-ups and investigation into the matter.

The US and its Western government allies have for long been accusing Iran of involvement in and assistance with anti-Israel maritime operations by Yemen's armed forces in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, an allegation adamantly rejected on numerous occasions by the Islamic Republic. 

Iran rejects UK accusations of involvement in Yemeni attacks on Israeli ships in Red Sea

Iran rejects accusations by the UK regarding the Islamic Republic’s involvement in Yemeni attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea.

Since October last year, the US-backed Israeli regime has been involved in merciless aggression against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has so far claimed nearly 42,000 lives, most of them women and children.

The Yemeni armed forces have since carried out operations against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by targeting Israel-bound and -owned vessels in retaliation for the regime's months-long onslaught on the blockaded Palestinian territory.

The United States and its allies have struck multiple areas on Yemeni soil and off the country's coast in support of the occupying entity, stoking insecurity in the maritime region endangering shipping routes in the strategic waterway.

Yemen's military and resistance movement have vowed to keep up their operations as long as the Israeli regime sustained the Gaza war and its crippling siege.

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