Aden (South24) 

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The US military has accused Iran of fully enabling the four Houthi missile attacks on three commercial ships in the Red Sea yesterday and the two drone attacks that seemingly targeted an American warship.

In a post on X, US Central Command said that six Houthi attacks between 9:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sanaa time, which were responded to by the Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer USS Carney, “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.”

"We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran. The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners," the statement added.

In statements made by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, Tehran denied American accusations regarding the Houthi attacks.

Kanaani said: “The baseless allegations of sending Iranian drones to Yemen and other places [..], are among those false allegations that are being made in an attempt to hide the crimes being committed by the Zionist regime of Israel in Gaza".

"The resistance groups in the region do not receive orders from Iran nor do we give them instructions to respond to the genocide of the Zionist regime. These groups represent their countries, and their reaction is a natural reaction," he added.

Kanaani said that his country considers the US Central Command "a terrorist group as their presence in the region has always caused instability."

Yesterday, the Houthi militia announced that it had targeted two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sarea said: “The operation came after the two ships rejected warning messages from our naval forces.”

Related: Houthis attack two commercial ships in Red Sea 

On November 19th, the Houthis hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, partly linked to Israel, in the Red Sea. Experts warn of the significant economic repercussions of the military escalation by the Iranian-backed militia in one of the world's most important waterways.