yemen Defense chief worries about Iranian shipments

Associated Press

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday he is concerned that Iranian ships heading toward Yemen may be carrying advanced weapons for the Houthi rebels, and moving a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region gives the president options.

Making his first public remarks on the Iranian cargo ships, Carter told reporters traveling with him that he is not prepared to say whether the U.S. would be willing to forcibly stop and board one of the Iranian ships if it tries to cross into Yemen. “We have options,” he said when asked about the boardings. “We’re not at that point. We’re at the point of trying to get the parties back to the table.”

Still, he said the U.S. is making it clear to Iran that “obviously fanning the flames or contributing to it by any party is not welcome to us.”

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is moving into the waters off Yemen, joining eight other U.S. warships, including some carrying teams capable of boarding and searching other vessels. The move comes amid reports that nine Iranian ships are heading that way, possibly carrying arms for the Shiite Houthi rebels. Such shipments would be in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

U.S. officials repeatedly have said the carrier’s deployment this week was in response to the deteriorating situation in Yemen, and its primary mission will be to insure freedom of navigation and commerce.

The move, however, came just as Saudi Arabia declared an end to the first phase of its campaign of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis and their allies in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been concerned about the possibility that more arms could be flowing to the Houthis, and the presence of the carrier and other U.S. warships provide added deterrence for weapons deliveries.