Iran Defiant, Australia Reluctant As US Seeks Another Warship For Red Sea Task Force Against Houthis

Australia appeared to deliver a lukewarm response to a US request for sending its warship to the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks. The US made the request at an operational level through the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in Bahrain, Australia’s Defence Minister said. “We will consider this request in due course”, Richard Marles told reporters. “But I would note that the focus of our naval efforts right now is on our immediate region,” the Australian Defence Minister added. Marles noted that he had this week welcomed back HMAS Toowoomba from a deployment in the Indo-Pacific.