DUBAI, February 5. /TASS/. The strikes on Yemen, Syria and Iraq by the United States are an attempt to divert the international community's attention from the situation in Palestine, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a weekly briefing.

"Attacking other countries in the region is a violation of their sovereignty and a bumbling attempt to divert public attention from the major crisis in Palestine, the solution to which is to end the brutal war against the oppressed Palestinian people," Iranian Labour News Agency cited the official as saying.

"Unfortunately, instead of promoting peace and security in the region, the US and Britain prefer to support the Israeli regime and its expansionist interests," the diplomat added. The actions Washington takes in the Middle East "are inconsistent and contradict their own statements." According to him, "Israel would be unable to continue the war against the Palestinian people without the American government's support."

The Iranian official also recalled London's role regarding the situation in the Middle East and pointed out that the British "should not forget their historical responsibility" in causing this hotbed of instability. "They must learn from their past mistakes and leave their support for the Zionist regime [Israel] behind," he noted. In turn, Iran is against any actions that further escalate the conflict and is doing its utmost to stop the war, Kanaani stressed.

Middle East conflict expansion

With the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalating, the Ansar Allah (Houthis) movement announced that it would conduct strikes on Israeli territory and block pro-Israeli vessels from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the military operation in the Palestinian enclave is stopped. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November of last year. Meanwhile, Shiite militant groups in Iraq and Syria have begun targeting US military facilities in said countries "in response to the indiscriminate killing of the Palestinian population by Israel, supported by the US."

On February 4, the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) reported conducting yet another series of strikes on Yemen, with the targets of the attacks being five cruise missiles launched by the rebel Houthis of the Ansar Allah movement. On February 3, American and British Forces struck 36 Houthi-affiliated targets.

According to CENTCOM, over 85 targets were struck by US aircraft in a series of attacks on the positions of Iran's Quds Special Force (elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and affiliated groups in several border areas of Iraq and Syria on the night of February 3. The strikes were carried out in response to an attack on the Western coalition Al-Tanf military base on the Syria-Jordan border that killed 3 US personnel and wounded 40. The US and NATO have placed responsibility for this on the Shiite militias, which they believe are backed by Tehran.