There’s been another report of Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen launching missile attacks on foreign vessels in the Red Sea. They’ve been less frequent recently, but the provocations certainly have not stopped, as we saw in Nov. 2023.
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Background: BREAKING. US Navy Rescues Hijacked Israeli-Managed Oil Tanker and Captures Houthi Pirates
via the Hill:
The latest attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea struck a Greek-owned and operated oil tanker with a ballistic missile early Saturday, according to U.S. officials.
The Iranian-backed group hit the oil tanker Wind at around 1 a.m. local time, with one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Wind, a Panamanian-flagged ship, was most recently docked in Russia and was on its way to China.
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The officials said the tanker crew was able to restore steering and propulsion. There were no casualties and the ship “resumed its course under its own power.”
Warning that “[t]his continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)’s statement continued:
“The missile caused “flooding which resulted in the of loss propulsion and steering. A coalition vessel immediately responded to the distress call by M/T Wind, but no assistance was needed.”
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My colleague Bob Hoge wrote about a slightly different, Iran-related attack in April—the take-over of a ship by Iran’s special forces.
Read: Iran Pirates Israeli-Owned Container Ship in International Waters
This latest attack by Houthi rebels comes amid “indirect talks” this week between the U.S. and Iran, first reported Friday by Axios, with the Biden administration apparently begging them to stop the Houthis and Hezbollah (and similar militia groups in Iraq and Syria) from continuing attacks just like this one. Seems to be working out well.