Iranian navy escorts commercial ships to Red Sea in fear of Israeli attacks

Iranian Naval Commander Shahram Irani said his country's navy is escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea, as the world braces for Israel's retaliatory attack.

Israel has said it would retaliate against Iran's weekend drone and missile attack on the country, which itself came as a response to a reported Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.

"The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view," Irani said, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Tehran is ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.

The Red Sea has been the site of significant disruptions to world trade ever since Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis started targeting Israel-linked ships in support of Gaza.