White House blames Iran for Red Sea ship attacks

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the White House blamed Iran for a series of recent attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said it is not known whether any of the three targeted ships have any ties to Israel. Still, he told reporters at the daily White House press briefing that such relations do not exist.

Sullivan stressed Washington's "consistent" position with the UN Security Council and the maritime states across the world is that "attacks on commercial shipping and international waters are totally unacceptable and have to stop."

The US top official added that the United States is "now in intensive consultation with partners and allies to determine appropriate next steps," and said that US officials are now in "ongoing" talks about an international "maritime task force" to protect shipping.

Sullivan added that even though the attacks were conducted by Houthis, the US administration, for now, is blaming Iran.