Sinking Of Cargo Ship Signifies Danger Of Houthi Attacks

The intercepted missile on Saturday was identified as a significant threat to US aircraft in the region.

“On March 1, at approximately 12:40 pm (Sanaa time), US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a self-defense strike against one Iranian-backed Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen towards the Red Sea. CENTCOM forces identified the missile and determined it presented an imminent threat to US aircraft in the region,” CENTCOM announced on X.

The incident unfolds amid escalating tensions, with Houthi fighters targeting both commercial and military vessels since November. Initially directed at ships associated with Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the attacks have since broadened to include vessels linked to the United Kingdom and the United States.

Last month, US forces, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Armed Forces and other nations, launched strikes against 18 Houthi targets in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.

The multinational efforts, as stated by US Central Command, aim to protect their respective countries, partners, and allies in the region. The heightened insecurity in the Red Sea has prompted major shipping lines to avoid the critical trade route, opting for longer journeys around Africa. The shift has led to increased expenses, raising concerns about global inflation.

Apart from those headed to Iran, grain ships originating from the Black Sea are about the only ones still using the route.

Iran-backed Houthis have effectively closed the Red Sea with their missile and drone strikes on commercial vessels. They maintain that they act in support of Palestinians and target only ships that are somehow related to Israel or its main supporters, US and Britain. But very few transport companies are willing to risk it.

“Just about all (dry bulk grain) vessels going from the Americas and western Europe are avoiding the Red Sea,” according to Reuters. “The only exception is vessels going to Iran, they’re still taking the Red Sea route when shorter.”

The clerical regime in Iran has been the Houthis’ primary supporter for several years now, funding, arming and training their forces and helping the group gain and retain control of large parts of Yemen in the face of a much stronger military alliance led by Saudi Arabia.

Last November, the Houthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea, in what they have always stated to be a response to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, and claiming that it would end if there were to be a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the attacks began in mid-November after Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei called on Muslims to blockade Israel.

Houthis have disrupted global maritime trade, forcing major operators to re-route and go around the southern tip of Africa, which has increased shipping costs and consequently the price of many consumer goods.

Iranian officials hail the Houthis’ “bravery” but insist that the group is operationally independent. However, a report in Asharq al-Awsat Friday suggested that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has a dedicated unit directing attacks in the Red Sea.

Quoting an unnamed Yemeni military source. Asharq al-Awsat reported that IRGC and Hezbollah forces “oversee every aspect of the military and political activities of the Houthis,” which includes “assembling missiles and drones, preparing unmanned boats and submarines, and even controlling the release of military information and videos.”

The report confirms a US military assessment two weeks ago that the IRGC has forces “on the ground” in Yemen “serving side by side” by the Houthis.

Shortly after the Houthis started their operations, the United States and some of its allies dispatched warships to the Red Sea to protect commercial vessels. More recently, the US and Britain have been striking Houthi sites inside Yemen, calling it “defensive action” aimed at “degrading” the group’s capabilities.

The strikes seemed to be a success when Houthi attacks ceased for two weeks in February. Later in the month, however, attacks resumed –and with marked increase in intensity.

“It is pretty obvious that the Houthi attacks cannot be stopped easily by military means,” Reuters quoted one grain trader exporting cargoes from Europe. “Many ship owners are still willing to accept the danger to their ships and vessels... Chinese purchases of Ukrainian corn recently are expected to transit the Red Sea.”

President Biden admitted that he didn’t think the airstrikes he authorized could end the Houthi attack, who, undeterred, have threatened to “surprise” the “enemy.”

Biden critics say his administration is to blame for emboldening the Houthis’ and –perhaps more importantly– Iran.

“Iran’s proxies are being emboldened and enriched by the Biden Administration’s appeasement first foreign policy,” Senator Pete Rickets (R-Ne) said in a Senate Committee for Foreign Relations hearing Thursday . “It’s a threat to American national security. More money in Iran’s coffers means more money in the hands of their proxies.”

Senators from both parties seemed to agree with witnesses in the hearing (titled Tehran’s Shadow Army) that existing sanctions on Iran, especially oil sanctions, need to be enforced with determination after a few years of loose (or non-) enforcement –which patently failed to entice the Iranian regime to cede some grounds in its nuclear program.

According to security sources in Lebanon, the incident unfolded on a coastal road near the town of Naqoura, targeting individuals traveling in a car. The Israeli military has stated that it is currently assessing the reports surrounding the incident.

The fighters have been reportedly identified as Mohammad Ali Ghobris, alias Karballa, hailing from Tyredebba; Mustafa Hussein Salman, known as Al-Hurr, from Majdal Zun; and Ali Abdul Nabi Qassem, alias Siraj, born in Mahrouna—all towns in southern Lebanon.

The strike marks another deadly episode amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon since October, resulting in the deaths of over 200 Hezbollah fighters and approximately 50 civilians. Hezbollah has been launching attacks from Lebanon into Israel that have claimed the lives of twelve Israeli soldiers and five civilians. The escalating violence has forced tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese to flee their homes along both sides of the border.

Israel rarely offers detailed information regarding individual strikes conducted within Syria or Lebanon, yet it has consistently affirmed its resolve to thwart Iran's efforts to extend its influence across the region.

Similar to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Hezbollah maintains close ties with Iran. Hezbollah claims that its operations along the border aim to provide solidarity and assistance to Palestinians enduring Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that three loud explosions were heard in the southern outskirts of Baniyas at dawn, which were caused by what it said were Israeli air strikes. According to Iranian Student News Agency, Reza Zarei, “a military advisor of the Revolutionary Guards,” was Killed in the attack.

Israel has intensified air strikes in recent weeks targeting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard senior personnel and bases, as well as affiliated militia forces in Syria. On Thursday, there were two suspected Israeli attacks, one targeting a truck belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah that is a major part of the Iranian-led forces in Syria. Israel also hit a Syrian air defense unit that fired at its aircraft.

There were several attacks in late January and early February on IRGC targets in Damascus and elsewhere in Syria, killing several high-ranking Iranian officers.

Iran intervened in the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago to support strongman Bashar al-Assad against his armed opponents. Israel saw the entrenchment of Iranian forces in Syria as a direct threat and began regularly attacking their bases and weapons concentrations from 2017.

The proxy militia in Lebanon backed by Iran is said to be poised to increase its cross-border assaults should it become certain Israel will invade the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire repeatedly in the months since the Gaza war began following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

However, the Lebanon-based Shia militia have stopped short of all-out conflict with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) until now.

According to a report by the Arabic Post on Wednesday, high-level Iranian and Lebanese sources disclosed that Tehran has set conditions for Hezbollah, ordering the group to launch a large-scale attack on Israel only after confirming Israel's intentions to invade Rafah.

A meeting between Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani was held to discuss “the latest developments,” a source from Iran's Revolutionary Guard revealed to Arabic Post.

Nasrallah reportedly expressed certainty about Israel's intentions to launch an assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon and sought Iran's support in responding effectively. "Nasrallah said that he is completely certain of [Israel's] intention to launch a large-scale attack on Lebanon, and he asked Qaani to give him complete freedom in how he intends to attack," a diplomatic source in Iran disclosed.

The report also highlighted Tehran's disapproval of Hezbollah's recent uncoordinated rocket launch on the northern Israeli city of Safed. The attack, which resulted in civilian and military casualties, led to Iranian calls for Hezbollah to exercise strategic patience.

The escalation in tensions underscores the volatile situation in the region, with fears of broader conflict looming large as Hezbollah gears up for potential retaliation against Israel.