A senior Yemeni Houthi official has said that Iran's silence and failure to respond to Israel could be seen as "a sign of weakness, humiliation and fear of confrontation".

Abdulsalam Jahaf, a member of the Security and Defence Committee of Yemen's Ansarullah Shura Council, made a statement on Monday following the killing of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Since the Zionists have gone too far in targeting Iranians, Iran has to respond. The fear of a direct war will inevitably lead to this. Iran has no choice but to take revenge,” Jahaf posted on his X account.

Iran's statement that it reserves the right to retaliate is “by no means a wise position” and “could mean not responding at all,” the senior official said.

“We are aware that war will have grave consequences, but silence will have even greater consequences," he added.

Air strike near Damascus

Sayyed Razi Mousavi was killed in an air strike near the Syrian capital Damascus on December 25, 2023.

Iranian officials blame Israel for this attack.

In his condolence message, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi asserted that Israel will definitely pay for this crime.

"I express my condolences to the Iranian people for the loss of Sayyed Razi Mousavi's life in the murderous Zionist regime's attack on Damascus," the president said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also expressed his condolences to the peoples of Iran, and said that the difficult countdown for Israel has begun.