U.S. carrier moving off coast of Yemen to block Iranian arms shipments

Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption U.S. warship heads to Yemeni waters to block Iranian arms shipments U.S. Navy officials say the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen and will join other American ships prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen. The U.

WASHINGTON — The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has moved off the coast of Yemen to prepare to intercept potential shipments of Iranian weapons to the rebels fighting the U.S.-backed government of Yemen, Pentagon officials said Monday.

Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the carrier and ships supporting her had been in the Persian Gulf. They moved to the waters near Yemen because of increased instability there, he said.

The Roosevelt is also tracking a convoy of Iranian ships headed to the Gulf of Aden, said two Defense officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the Iranian vessels. The Iranians have been supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Roosevelt began steaming toward Yemen Sunday, said a Navy official who was not authorized to speak about the issue publicly. With the Roosevelt, the Navy now has nine warships off Yemen, the Navy official said. The Navy usually has amphibious ships for landing troops and gear in the region. The Roosevelt "significantly" adds to the Navy's firepower there.

The Pentagon has been tracking the progress of the Iranian ships since last week, one of the Defense officials said. The Navy is prepared to intercept the ships.

Moving the Roosevelt is viewed by the Pentagon as significant but not necessarily a prelude to conflict.

If the Iranians are delivering arms and violating United Nations resolutions, it could trigger a confrontation with the Navy, according to a third senior Defense Department official, also speaking on condition of anonymity. It's too soon to tell if that will happen, that official said.

The Houthis are Shiite Muslims, while the Yemeni government has been dominated by Sunni Muslims.

Iran, which is also primarily Shiite, has been backing the Houthis, while Sunni nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are supporting the government.

Last month, the Pentagon evacuated Special Operations forces that had been assisting the government in Yemen. Terrorists associated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are intent on hitting U.S. and western targets and have been a particular concern of the Pentagon's.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter foreshadowed the Roosevelt's move last week when he told reporters that the Pentagon would look for alternatives to fighting AQAP.

"It's easier for us to operate against a group like that if we have the cooperation of a stable government as was the case in the past," Carter said. "But if we don't have a stable government, as is the case in the current circumstance, we have to use other means to protect ourselves, and that's what we're doing."

The guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy is accompanying the Roosevelt, the Navy said.

The Navy has intercepted Iranian arms shipments to the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah in the past, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution.

"Perhaps we will do it again," O'Hanlon said. "I'd hardly rule it out."