Geneva — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied that his country was responsible for a drone attack in the Red Sea that appeared to be targeting a U.S. missile destroyer.
The drone, which originated from Yemen, was shot down early Wednesday morning by the USS Thomas Hudner as it was "heading in the direction of the ship," according to a statement from the Pentagon.
"We really didn't want this crisis to expand," Amir-Abdollahian told CBS News on Wednesday, referencing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. "But the U.S. has been intensifying the war in Gaza by throwing its support behind Israel. Yemen makes its own decisions and acts independently."
The Pentagon did not say who it believes fired the drone, but the incident comes after Iranian-backed Houthis militants in Yemen earlier this week vowed to attack ships in the Red Sea.
Iran is also a backer of Hamas, and the U.S. says that makes it complicit in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The minister told CBS News that Hamas' attacks were a response to 75 years of Israeli occupation.
"Amir-Abdollahian stated that the actions taken by Hamas were justified as a means of self-defense," when asked about the Hamas assault. The assault resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people in Israel and the reported hostage-taking of over 200 individuals.
"I want to make it clear that we are against the killing of women and children in any situation," Amir-Abdollahian added.
In the Red Sea on October 19, the USS Carney intercepted three missiles that were launched from Yemen and appeared to be targeting Israel.
"These groups in Iraq and Syria, who are attacking U.S. interests, have made their own decisions," Amir-Abdollahian told CBS News when questioned about Iran's support for militant groups in the Middle East.
In response to numerous attacks by militant groups on U.S. military forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, the U.S. has carried out two strikes on weapons storage facilities in eastern Syria that are linked to Iran.
Both the U.S. and Iran express a desire to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from escalating, but little else is agreed upon between the two nations.
