Iran security chief praises ‘brave actions’ of Houthi rebels who have targeted Israeli-linked vessels in shipping lane

Iran has rejected US and British calls to end its support for attacks by Houthi rebels on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea and claimed the accusations were baseless interference as its navy dispatched a destroyer to the vital shipping lane.

The Alborz destroyer, operating as a military vessel of the 94th flotilla of the Iranian navy, crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and entered the Red Sea on Monday. It came as Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council (SNSC), met Mohammed Abdulsalam, the Houthi spokesperson, praising the rebel fighters’ “brave actions” against “Zionist aggression”.