Iran Concerns about escalation after Israel's counterattack in Yemen

Following the Israeli airstrike in Yemen in response to a deadly drone attack by the pro-Iranian Huthi militia in Tel Aviv, there are growing concerns about a conflagration.

Iran and Israel issued mutual warnings. Israel's "dangerous adventurism" could trigger a regional war, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, according to the state news agency Irna. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the defensive battle against Iran's "axis of terror".

"Now is the time for the international community to maximize sanctions against Iran," demanded Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Platform X. Iran supports, trains and finances the Huthi as "part of its regional network of terrorist organizations that want to attack Israel". Israel and its supporters such as the USA would be "directly responsible" for "unpredictable and dangerous consequences" of the Gaza war and attacks on Yemen, warned the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Guterres concerned about the risk of escalation

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his "deep concern about the risk of further escalation in the region". He called for "the utmost restraint". According to Israel's military, it had previously attacked military targets of the Houthi militia in the port of Hudaida. As the Huthi-affiliated television station Al-Masirah reported that night, citing the health authorities, at least three people were killed and 87 injured.

Pictures showed huge fires. Houthi spokesmen had confirmed an Israeli attack against "civilian facilities" in Yemen. Targets had been oil and electricity facilities. "From the beginning of the war, I have made it clear that Israel will take action against anyone who attacks us," said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. On Friday, a man was killed and at least eight other people were injured when a combat drone coming from Yemen hit the center of Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu: We reach enemies everywhere

The counter-strike in Yemen "makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that Israel's long arm will not reach", said Netanyahu. It was the response "to hundreds of attacks on Israel in recent months", explained the Israeli army. Weapons from Iran had entered the country via the port of Hudaida, Netanyahu said. Like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, the Houthi militia in Yemen is an integral part of the Iranian "axis of evil".

Since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, the decades-old conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated dramatically. Israel finds itself under fire on several fronts following attacks by militias allied with Iran. Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Israel and the USA have been considered arch-enemies of the country. Netanyahu has also called Iran the "most important enemy" in the past.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Joav Galant about Israel's response to the drone attack by the Houthi militia in Tel Aviv, according to a Pentagon spokesman last night. Israel's strike followed months of attacks by the Houthi against the state of Israel. Austin reaffirmed "the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel's security and Israel's right to self-defense".

Renewed demonstrations in Israel against Netanyahu

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated again in Israel against Netanyahu's government and for an immediate agreement in the Gaza war to release the hostages. Shortly before Netanyahu's departure for the USA, demonstrators in Jerusalem held up banners reading: "No flight without an agreement", as the Times of Israel reported in the evening. On Wednesday, Israel's head of government plans to give a speech to both chambers of the US Congress on Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip.

At one of the weekly rallies, one of the participants, whose own grandson was abducted in the terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups in Gaza on October 7 and, according to the newspaper, was recently declared dead by the military, said: "Only an end to the war will bring the hostages home". An end to the war will "also mean an end to the government," he added. "So you can all understand why this war has gone on for so long and why there is still no hostage agreement."

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, in which Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating, have been going on for months. They revolve around a three-stage plan that envisages the exchange of the 120 or so hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails as well as ways towards a permanent ceasefire. Participants in the indirect talks had recently shown cautious optimism. However, no further high-level meetings have been announced at present.

Huthi: Prepare for a long war

Meanwhile, the military spokesman for the Houthi militia in Yemen, Jahja Sari, said that they were preparing for a "long war" with Israel. For months, the militia has been attacking merchant ships in the region that allegedly have links to Israel. It claims to be acting out of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza war. It has also attacked targets in Israel. Most of the missiles were repelled. Iran finances, arms and directs the terrorist activities of the Houthi, said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari.

The long-range drone aimed at Tel Aviv by the militia crashed into a residential building in the center of the Israeli coastal metropolis on Friday, loaded with explosives. Israel's Defense Minister Galant then announced retaliation. Hagari said that the air force had attacked targets that were also used for terrorist activities, including energy infrastructure, in the counter-attack on the Yemeni port of Hudaida. Israel carried out the airstrike alone and did not involve allies such as the USA.

A civil war has been raging in Yemen for years. There is also a severe humanitarian crisis, with around 80 percent of the population dependent on some form of aid. According to the UN, around 70 percent of all imports and 80 percent of all humanitarian aid enters the country via the strategically important port of Hudaida on the Red Sea.