Yemeni official: We will completely close Bab al-Mandab if US intervenes

Pars Today – A military adviser to Yemen’s Ministry of Defense said that if the United States intervenes, US interests in the region will be targeted.

According to Pars Today, citing IRIB, Brigadier General Abed Mohammad al-Thawr, a military adviser to Yemen’s Ministry of Defense, warned in an interview with Agence France-Presse that if the United States intervenes militarily in the war in Yemen or attempts to take control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Yemen will counter the move and target US interests in the region.

Abed Mohammad al-Thawr said: “If the United States dares to intervene militarily with its fleet or attempts to take control of the Bab al-Mandab, this will be our red line, and we will fight over it.”

He added: “If the United States intervenes to support Saudi Arabia and provides Riyadh with airstrikes or air support, we will consider all US interests in the surrounding area to be targets, and we will make no exceptions.”

Al-Thawr also stressed that under such circumstances, the Bab al-Mandab Strait would be completely closed to US ships.

In another part of the interview, the Yemeni military official spoke about relations with Iran, saying: “Iran is a friendly, allied and brotherly country to us, but it does not give us orders. We are independent in our decisions and sovereignty.”

Al-Thawr also threatened Saudi Arabia that if attacks on Yemen continue, it will face a response with an “iron fist.”