US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
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US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi group at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified, reported The Associated Press.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and "three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
Houthi attacks for months have targeted shipping through a waterway where $1 trillion in goods pass annually over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon. A ceasefire was announced last week.
The USS Stockdale was involved in a similar attack on Nov. 12.



Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Saturday that it had received messages from the new government in Damascus following the ouster of its longtime Syrian ally, former president Bashar al-Assad, AFP reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is indirectly in contact with Damascus," Tehran's special envoy for Syrian affairs Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The diplomat said Iran had "also received messages" from Syria, but did not specify the intermediary country facilitating the communication.

Sheibani was responding to a question about recent comments by Syria's foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, regarding communications with Iran, according to IRNA.

"Our view of the developments in Syria and the restoration of relations with Damascus is forward-looking," Sheibani said, emphasizing that Iran was "thoughtfully" monitoring the situation there.

Iran, a staunch ally of Assad's regime, evacuated its diplomatic mission in Syria in December when opposition forces, led by current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, overthrew the government.

Sharaa said in December that Syria "cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran".

He added that ties between Damascus and Tehran "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and non-interference in the affairs of both countries".

Iran had provided assistance to Assad during Syria's civil war, helping him claw back control of swathes of the country.

Sheibani, who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Syria, reiterated Tehran's position that the "future and destiny" of Syria must be determined by Syrians alone.

"The stability and peace of Syria are of particular importance to us, and we are against any foreign interference in the affairs of this country," he said.