A US Navy official has said that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are on the ground in Yemen “serving side-by-side” with Houthi rebels and providing assistance to the group that has targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea.
"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is inside Yemen, and they are serving side by side with the Houthis, advising them and providing target information," Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, told CBS News.
"They're resupplying them as we sit here right now at sea," Cooper said. "We know this is happening. They're advising them, and they're providing target information. This is crystal clear."
The Houthis, a Shia militia that controls large swaths of war-torn Yemen, have been attacking vital Red Sea shipping lanes since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Their attacks have triggered reprisals by US and UK strikes on Houthi-controlled areas.
When asked what US forces have done to counter the partnership between the IRGC and the Houthis, Cooper said that “will obviously end up being a policy decision.”
“Our role at this point is to simply be ready and continue to be aggressive in exercising our right to self-defense,” he added.
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