Yemen's Houthis carrying out attacks with Iran's support, says Biden aide

The United States believes Iran is involved in the planning and execution of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, a senior aide to US President Joe Biden said on Dec 7.

The comments by deputy White House national security adviser Jon Finer are among the most explicit to date by a US official alleging Iranian involvement in the Houthi attacks.

Mr Finer spoke hours after the United States imposed new sanctions aimed at throttling what US officials say is Iranian financial support for the Houthi strikes.

The Houthis "would not have the weaponry, would not have the intelligence, would not have the motivation to do this, were it not for the role of the IRGC", Mr Finer told an Aspen Security Forum conference in Washington, referring to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"They're involved in the conduct of these attacks, the planning of them, the execution of them, the authorisation of them, and ultimately, they support them," he said.

Iran has denied any involvement in the strikes.