Washington [US], August 29: According to Iran's mission to the United Nations, the Houthis temporarily stopped firing to ensure the prevention of an oil spill from the Sounion ship that they attacked on August 23, but will continue to attack if the Hamas-Israel conflict continues.
AFP news agency on August 29 quoted a statement from Iran's mission to the United Nations saying that Houthi forces in Yemen have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, allowing efforts to prevent an oil spill from a ship attacked by these forces last week.
The Greek-owned ship Sounion was attacked by Houthi forces off the coast of Hodeida on August 23, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate.
"Several countries have contacted Ansarullah (Houthi) to request a temporary ceasefire so that tugboats and rescue ships can enter the area where the incident occurred and the subsequent environmental hazard could be caused," the Iranian mission said.
"Ansarullah has accepted this request," the mission said, adding that any "failure to assist and prevent the oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of some states" rather than the risk of being targeted by the Houthis.
Houthi forces have launched a campaign against international shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis previously said the Sounion "belongs to a company with ties to Israel" and was "targeted with precision and direct attack" by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles.
According to the Aspides mission, a group of naval forces in the Red Sea of the European Union (EU), the ship had departed from Iraq and was en route to a port near Athens (Greece), carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
The EU naval force, set up in February to protect cargo ships from Houthi attacks, warned last week that the ship "currently poses a navigational and environmental hazard".
The Houthis will continue to target oil tankers "bound for Israel if the fighting in Gaza continues," according to the Iranian mission.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
