Iranian navy’s Alborz destroyer entered the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandab on Monday, January 1. Iranian deployment comes amidst the growing tension in the region in the context of Israel’s continued war in Gaza.
The news of Iranian deployment to the Red Sea comes specifically a day after the US attacked three Yemeni vessels in the area, killing at least 10 soldiers.
The US, which recently launched an international maritime alliance called Operation Prosperity Guardian, claimed on Sunday that its helicopters attacked Ansar Allah, or Houthi, vessels in “self defense.” The US helicopters were apparently responding to a distress call by Maersk Hangzhou, a commercial ship, when they were allegedly attacked from the Houthi vessels.
Yemen’s Houthis have acknowledged the loss of three boats and fighters. Yemeni army’s spokesperson Yahya Sare’e, claimed that the Yemeni soldiers were killed while performing their official routine duty of “securing stability, protecting maritime navigation and fulfilling their humanitarian and moral responsibilities including Yemen’s declaration to prevent Israeli ships or those headed to the occupied Palestinian ports from passing through the Red Sea.”
Israel has been waging a war in Gaza since October 7. As a result, at least 22,000 Palestinians, including nearly 9,000 children, have been killed, and nearly 58,000 others have been injured. In an expression of solidarity, the Houthis announced that they will target any ship heading to Israeli ports until Israel stops its genocide of Palestinians.
Houthis have since captured Israeli-owned ship Galaxy Leader, and targeted several others passing through the Red Sea. This has led to a significant decline in shipping trade to Israel and also has led to several of the world’s leading shipping companies suspending operations through the Red Sea.
Yemen has refused to stop its attacks on ships heading to Israel, despite the US announcing the maritime alliance. Though the US claims at least 20 countries have agreed to join the alliance in defense of freedom of navigation, so far only the UK has agreed to send its warships in the region to participate in its activities, while most of the countries in the region have kept away.
Read more: US-led maritime force will not stop Yemen’s Houthis from enforcing blockade against Israel
Iranian deployment in the Red Sea is termed as routine in the media reports. A report claims that Iranian ships have been deployed in the region since 2009 to “secure shipping lines, fight against pirates and carry out other missions.” However, it also comes in the context of the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Corp (IRGC) top commander Sayyed Razi Mousavi in Syria by Israelis last week.
Mousavi, working as a military advisor to the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on December 25 in Damascus. Mousavi was the third Iranian official killed in Syria in December by Israel.
Iran had announced that it reserves its right to retaliate to the assassination of Mousavi “at the appropriate time and place.”
