Yemen's defense minister has pledged the country’s full combat readiness to retaliate against enemies’ acts of provocation and aggression in kind, warning that the nation’s Armed Forces were set to engage in drawn-out naval confrontations with the adversaries in the same context.
Major General Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi made the remarks as tensions are running high between Yemen and the United States after US President Donald trump ordered deadly airstrikes across Yemen on Sunday night.
The raids were launched hours after the Ansarullah resistance movement warned that the Yemeni Armed Forces would target the American aircraft carrier, and warships in the region.
Yemen asserts that it will continue its pro-Palestinian operations against sensitive and strategic targets across the occupied territories and the Israeli ships crossing key waterways.
"Yemen has already issued public warnings that it will not be forced to remain silent about the Zionist aggression in its brutality, starvation, and unjust siege of the Palestinians in Gaza, and that it will meet the siege with a siege and escalation with escalation,” Atifi noted.
He reiterated that. "If the Zionist enemy does lift its siege on Gaza people, the Yemenis armed forces are ready to develop the confrontation in proportion to the size of the challenge and any emergency situation."
Atifi reaffirmed Yemen's unwavering support for Gaza, stating that the nation would continue its efforts until justice was achieved for Palestinians and their suffering ended.
Yemen had stopped its pro-Palestinian strikes after the ceasefire took effect in January. It, however, resumed the operations targeting Israeli ships after the Israeli regime failed to heed a deadline by Sana’a to lift the siege and let aid reach the Palestinian territory.
Al-Atifi emphasized that Yemen's military capabilities, including missile forces, drones, and naval units, were at peak readiness to undertake missions in defense of Arab and Islamic nations.
The Yemeni defense minister highlighted that all necessary military measures had been implemented following the expiration of the deadline for removal of the siege.
Atifi was referring to the United States and the UK, which had resorted to heavy offensive naval buildup off Yemen’s coastline, and had escalated its attacks on the Arab Peninsula country to try to stop its pro-Palestinian strikes.
Sana’a has been responding to the intensified attacks by targeting American warships, and enhancing its preparedness to take on the naval assets.
The Yemeni official, however, clarified that Yemen's decision to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea did not threaten international maritime navigation in those areas.
Press TV’s website
