Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of increasing its aggression against Israel and the free world after Yemen's Houthis, an Iranian proxy group, seized a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea. The attack came as the US and other Western powers have worked to prevent the regionalization of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. The fear is that the conflict could escalate to involve Hezbollah in Lebanon and lead to a wider conflict with Iran. The US has deployed military assets in the region to monitor the situation and is prepared for all contingencies.