Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen signaled they were willing to launch new attacks as the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East, a move President Donald Trump ordered as he threatened military action over Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, according to Associated Press reporting.
The statements came as the region watched for signs of whether Trump would strike. U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media that the Lincoln and other guided missile destroyers in its strike group had arrived “to promote regional security and stability,” AP reported.
In response, a senior Iranian military official speaking anonymously on Iran’s state TV dismissed the U.S. threat as “an exaggeration” and said the carrier’s presence was not a deterrent but an accessible target, AP reported.
Yemen’s Houthis hinted they were ready to resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea on Monday. A short video from the group included images of a ship on fire with the caption “Soon,” AP said, and it later aired footage from its January 2024 attack in the Gulf of Aden on the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Marlin Luanda, one of over 100 ships the Houthis said were attacked in a campaign they described as applying pressure on Israel over its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
AP reported that the Houthis had halted their fire after a ceasefire in Gaza and said they had repeatedly warned they could resume fire if needed.
In Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah issued a direct threat late Sunday toward any attack targeting Iran, warning that a “total war” in the region would result, AP said. In a separate statement attributed to Ahmad “Abu Hussein” al-Hamidawi, the group said: “We affirm to the enemies that the war on the (Islamic) Republic will not be a picnic; rather, you will taste the bitterest forms of death, and nothing will remain of you in our region,” AP reported.
Hezbollah, another Iran ally, declined to say how it would react if Israel and America went to war against Iran. In a video address to supporters gathered for a rally in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said, “During the past two months, several parties have asked me a clear and frank question: If Israel and America go to war against Iran, will Hezbollah intervene or not?” AP reported. He said the group was preparing for “possible aggression” and was “determined to defend,” adding, “these details will be determined by the battle and we will determine them according to the interests that are present.”
The regional posture also drew from statements by Arab governments. AP reported that the United Arab Emirates announced Monday it would not allow its airspace, territory or territorial waters to be used for military action against Iran, while stressing dialogue and diplomatic resolutions.
Iran’s own warnings on Monday targeted both Washington and Israel. Iranian Defense Ministry spokesperson Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik, quoted by Iran’s state TV, said that any attack would “be met with a response that is more painful and more decisive than in the past.” Talaei-Nik also said threats required Iran “to maintain full and comprehensive preparedness,” AP reported.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei separately told journalists that regional countries know that any security breach would not affect Iran only, and he said, “The lack of security is contagious,” according to AP.
AP also reported that Iran over the weekend unveiled a banner in Tehran’s Enghelab Square showing an aircraft carrier strewn with bodies and streaked with blood, with the warning: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.” Iran also issued a notice to pilots Sunday banning small private aircraft from flying in the country, with carve-outs for the oil industry and emergency medical flights, AP said. AP reported that many Western airlines had started to avoid Iranian airspace entirely due to the tensions.
The renewed military threats unfolded against the background of protests that began on Dec. 28 after the fall of the Iranian currency, the rial, AP reported. The demonstrations quickly spread across the country, and the protests were met with what AP described as a violent crackdown that included more than two-week internet blackout described as the most comprehensive in Iran’s history.
On the death toll, AP reported that the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the fatalities at 5,973 and said more than 41,813 people had been arrested. AP said it could not independently verify the toll. The agency’s figures, AP said, are expected to rise and rely on a network of activists in Iran.
Iran’s government reported a far lower death toll of 3,117 and said 2,427 were civilians and security forces, while labeling the rest “terrorists,” AP reported.
Correction: This story has been corrected to note that the Houthis fired missiles on Israel during the 12-day war last June.