Iran will join Russia and China in naval drills following UK & US strikes on Houthi

Iran will join joint naval exercises with Russia and China by the end of the year as tensions in the region escalate over attacks by Yemen-based Houthi forces on commercial ship traffic.

On Monday, the head of Iran‘s navy said other countries also have been invited to join the naval maneuvers. Iran has condemned the US attacks, some of which targeted sites used by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operatives.

“This exercise will be carried out with the aim of protecting the security of the region and common interests,” Rear Adm. Shahram Irani said, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency.

The announcement comes after the US Central Command forces and the UK's RAF on Sunday conducted a strikes against Houthi land attack cruise missile and drone sites in Yemen. Officials said they were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea and presented “an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.”

The Houthi group has huge diplomatic and economic ties to Iran. And Iran has deep links with Russia.

In 2015, Putin ordered a military intervention in Syria, supporting the Assad regime and its Iranian allies with an aerial bombing campaign against the Syrian opposition.

Iran also exports weapons and military technology to Russia, most notably drone systems that are being used in the war in Ukraine.