U.S. Sends Mixed Messages On Why US Naval Vessels Are Shadowing The Iranian Convoy Off The Coast Of Yemen

CNN: Obama administration sends mixed message on Iranian ships

Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama said Tuesday evening that the U.S. is sending "very direct messages" warning Iran against attempts to supply weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But the message to the American people has been a little more muddled. Throughout the day Tuesday, several administration spokesmen denied or downplayed any connection between U.S. warships deploying to Yemeni waters and an approaching convoy of Iranian cargo and naval ships.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf blasted "misreporting" in the news that U.S. ships in the region were tasked with monitoring or intercepting the Iranian ships nearing Yemen.

The U.S. is walking a fine line as it looks to quell the situation in Yemen. It has sought to reassure Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia that are engaged in a proxy war with Iran in Yemen -- allies that support the deposed Yemeni government that had been cooperating with the U.S. in fighting an al-Qaeda affiliate. But it is also looking to keep tensions with Iran to a minimum as American diplomats work to secure a final deal on Iran's nuclear program.

Harf dismissed the Iranian link in discussing the U.S. naval activities in the region.

Update #1: Officials giving mixed messages on why US aircraft carrier shadowing Iranian convoy -- FOX News
Update #2: Pentagon tracking Iranian convoy off coast of Yemen -- Navy Times
Update #3: Obama says U.S. has warned Iran not to send weapons to Yemen -- Reuters

WNU Editor: No one is believing the official U.S. line that US naval ships are NOT there to intercept the Iranian vessels if the need arises .... the more effective comment on this specific issue would have been "no comment".

Update #4: This interesting .... A brief history of Iran-U.S. naval altercations as tensions rise near Yemen (Washington Post).