Russia implicated in Houthi rebels’ strikes on merchant ships
Russia has been helping Iran-backed Houthi rebels target British and Western ships in the Red Sea, Western media reviewed online by The Oracel Today reported Saturday.
Houthi militants in Yemen have reportedly been using Russian satellite data as they increase drone and missile strikes on commercial vessels in response to the war in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the data used to track ships was handed over through Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who were embedded with the Houthis.
The report indicates the Kremlin directly supported the militant group in its mission to disrupt one of the world’s biggest shipping lanes and marks a major escalation in Moscow’s involvement in fuelling instability in the region.
Since November last year, the Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels and military warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they are acting in solidarity with Gaza.
A British-owned cargo ship carrying 41,000 tons of fertiliser sank in February after it was struck by a missile.
Attacks on ships by the Iran-backed militia also included launching an explosive-laden drone boat attack at the oil tanker Cordelia Moon earlier this month, 70 miles off the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.
The ship, which the Houthis claimed was a British vessel, suffered severe damage.
Attacks by the Iran-backed militia on British ships include launching an explosive-laden drone boat attack at the oil tanker Cordelia Moon earlier this month, 70 miles off the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.
The ship suffered severe damage while a British-owned cargo ship carrying 41,000 tons of fertiliser sank in February after it was struck by a missile.
The rebels have sunk one other ship, and damaged 30, following 100 attacks on vessels, prompting the US and UK to carry out a series of strikes on the Houthis in Yemen with the Pentagon saying the response was necessary “to protect freedom of navigation”.
Last week the US used B-2 stealth bombers for the first time against the rebels, targeting five underground storage sites.
The disclosure that Russia is assisting the Houthis with satellite data indicates further evidence of how far Vladimir Putin is willing to go to destabilise the West.
Instability in the Middle East could benefit Putin by diverting resources away from the threats faced by both China and Russia.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a person familiar with the matter and two European defence officials as saying that the Houthis started using the data as they expanded their strikes.
It said that it was passed on to the Houthis, who have been sanctioned by both the UK and US, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces which some want to see banned as a terrorist group in the UK.
Alexander Gabuev, director of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, a think tank based in Berlin, told the newspaper that Russia would benefit from any instability.
“For Russia, any flare-up anywhere is good news, because it takes the world’s attention further away from Ukraine and the US needs to commit resources – Patriot systems or artillery shells – and with the Middle East in play, it’s clear where the US will choose.”
The Red Sea is where ships travel to and from the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping channels, with vessels initially forced to divert thousands of nautical miles around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after the Houthis first started launching attacks.
Earlier this month it emerged that Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known as “The Merchant of Death”, who was freed by Joe Biden in 2022, is selling Russian weapons to the Houthis.
Bout is reportedly dealing arms to rebels in Yemen less than two years after he was freed in exchange for Brittney Griner, the US basketball player.
Iran is also said to have brokered secret talks between Russia and the Houthis to transfer anti-ship missiles amid deepening ties between Tehran and Moscow.
The rebels and Russians are believed to have met at least twice this year in talks over dozens of Yakhont missiles, which could allow the militia to more precisely target commercial vessels or warships defending them.
Closer relations between Iran and Russia comes amid the growing conflict between Israel and Tehran as it fights Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups have been supported by Iran with funding, training and weapons.
Israel is preparing to launch a strike on Iran in the coming days in retaliation after nearly 200 ballistic missiles were fired at the country.
Russia and the Houthis are yet to comment on the report.
