Iran’s foreign minister denied that his country is helping Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea, warning the waterway won’t be safe as long as Israel maintains its offensive in Gaza.

The White House, citing newly released intelligence, said Friday that Iran was "deeply involved” in the planning of the Houthi attacks and has supplied weapons, financial support and training.

"The accusation is baseless,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a news conference in Tehran, according to a state-run television station. The attacks are "a completely Yemeni decision in support and defense of Gaza,” he said.