US deploys 12 warships to the Gulf of Aden

The United States has reportedly deployed 12 warships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in response to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen.

“By having American sea power in the region, we have created options for ourselves,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said.

The US warships are tracking an Iranian convoy which the United States suspects may be carrying weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of the UN arms embargo, he said.

The Pentagon spokesman refused to answer a question on what the US will do if the Iranian convoy approached Yemeni shores, saying: “We do not know what the Iranian convoy intends to do, but we are watching it.”

On 14 April, the UN Security Council placed an arms embargo on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On Monday, the US said that the aircraft carrier the USS Theodore Roosevelt along with the USS Normandy, a guided-missile cruiser, left the Persian Gulf on Sunday en route for the Arabian Sea to help enforce the blockade.

The aircraft carrier carries about 5,000 men and 60 aircrafts.