Nuclear Iran

[Jimbuna]

Houthi rebels in Yemen say they will continue sinking British ships

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis vowed on Sunday to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of a UK-linked vessel.

The US military confirmed on Saturday that the Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on February 18.

"Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill," Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, said in a post on X.

"It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza."

Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.

Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.

The US and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The 172m-long Rubymar was flagged in Belize and operated by a Lebanese firm.

Its registered owner is Golden Adventure Shipping, with an address in the British port of Southampton.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/worl...-b1142838.html

[Otto Harkaman]

Who are the Houthi leaders?

The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), is a significant player in the Yemeni civil war. Here’s what we know about them:

1. Hussein al-Houthi: The movement’s late founder, Hussein al-Houthi, launched “Believing Youth,” a religious revival movement for a centuries-old subsect of Shia Islam called Zaidism. The Zaidis ruled Yemen for centuries but were marginalized under the Sunni regime that came to power after the 1962 civil war.
2. Abdul Malik al-Houthi: Hussein al-Houthi’s brother, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, is the current leader of the Houthi movement. He took over after Hussein was killed in 2004. Abdul Malik al-Houthi remains an enigmatic figure, and many say they have never laid eyes on him in person.

The Houthi movement has been involved in the ongoing conflict in Yemen, and their attacks have recently escalated in the Red Sea, impacting global shipping and oil companies.

Who are the leaders of the Yemen government?

As of April 7, 2022, the leadership structure in Yemen has undergone significant changes. Here are the key points:

1. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi: Formerly the president of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ceded his authority to a Presidential Leadership Council. This council now exercises the powers of both the president and vice president. The council is led by Rashad al-Alimi, a former interior minister under President Saleh.
2. Mahdi al-Mashat: However, it’s essential to note that the Houthi Supreme Political Council’s chairman, Mahdi al-Mashat, contests the Hadi faction’s claim to the presidency. Al-Mashat is only recognized by Iran.

In summary, the Yemeni government’s leadership is currently vested in the Presidential Leadership Council, with Rashad al-Alimi at the helm, while Mahdi al-Mashat disputes this claim.

[Jimbuna]

Portsmouth centre sees rise in Middle East shipping distress calls

The Royal Navy's facility for handling international shipping emergencies has experienced an "unprecedented" increase in reported incidents.

The UK Maritime Trade Organisation control centre at Portsmouth acts as a 999 call centre for ships in distress.

It has seen a near fivefold increase in its calls since Houthi rebels began targeting ships with links to the UK and US in November 2023.

More than 40 ships have been attacked in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) was originally set up in Dubai in 2001 to act as a hub for handling distress calls from international shipping in the Middle East.

It was moved to Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 2014.

The Royal Navy operation now employs a civilian team of 15 watch-keepers and three managers covering calls 24 hours a day from shipping in the southern Red Sea, Bab al Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

The civilian handlers take emergency calls from ships' masters from all nationalities, co-ordinate rescue responses and circulate warnings to other shipping.

Lt Cmdr Joanna Black said it dealt with up to seven "very complex" incidents per day.

She said: "We are dealing with missile attacks on merchant shipping, UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] attacks and harassment.

"We also see small boat harassment and possible resurgence of Somali-based piracy and even interference with VHF comms."

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the UKMTO put out 71 warnings and advisories, took part in 40 exercises and drills, handled 27 emergency events such as medical incidents and breakdowns and handled 225,178 emails.

The Red Sea is the fastest sea route between Asia and Europe.

Large shipping firms, including Mediterranean Shipping Company and Maersk, have diverted vessels to the much longer route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope and then up the west side of the continent.

Shipping costs have increased after Houthis attacked commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea following the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October.

The Iran-backed group said it was targeting ships linked to Israel, the US and the UK in support of Hamas.

The US and the UK responded with air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Darren Longhurst, a watchkeeper who used to serve in the Royal Navy, said: "There's been a couple of hairy moments - obviously you can't physically see it, but when you can hear them in the background when you're talking to the master and everything is going off, the adrenalin starts going then."

Lt Cmdr Black said the team's role was to provide a "clear interface" with ships at sea.

"A lot of the ships masters and security officers we are talking to don't have English as a first language, they are civilians in a very frightening, incredibly stressful situation," she said.

"Our team need to deal with that, much like 999 call operators, to understand and establish the truth and support, reassure and inform those people in distress that help is on its way."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-68617802

[Exocet25fr]

[Jimbuna]

Yemeni Houthi movement secures safe Red Sea passage for Russian and Chinese ships

Representatives of the Yemeni Houthi movement were in discussions with diplomats from Russia and China regarding the security of their fleet passing through the Red Sea. The fighters were to guarantee that their ships would not be the target of attacks. In Oman, a meeting occurred with diplomats from Russia and China and Mohammed Abdel Salam, a leading political figure of the Yemeni Houthi fighters - Bloomberg reported, citing sources who witnessed the talks. The fighters guaranteed that attacks on Chinese and Russian ships would not be conducted, allowing them to safely pass through the Red Sea. In return, the Houthis are hoping for political support, such as at the UN, to block further resolutions against the movement. Since mid-November 2023, Yemeni Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea. They claim to target only those associated with Israel and, more recently, with the United States and the United Kingdom, aiming to pressure the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

China and Russia are concerned

According to Bloomberg, to avoid Houthi attacks, some ships passing through the Red Sea indicate their ties to China more explicitly, such as stating that all crew members are Chinese instead of the usual destination port. Despite this, in mid-January, Wang Yi, the head of Chinese diplomacy, called for an end to the harassment of civilian ships and attacks on them, advocating for the maintenance of the free flow of global industrial chains, supply chains, and the international trade order. Russian interests were also harmed during these attacks. As reported on money.pl, at the end of January, the fighters targeted a British tanker owned by the trading giant Trafigura Group, carrying Russian oil, marking an unexpected setback for the Kremlin and heightening fears of further disruptions on the route through the Red Sea. The attacks are disrupting trade on the route, which until recently accounted for 12 percent of global trade. Ships must now take a longer route circling Africa from the south. Egypt is also affected, as traffic through the Suez Canal has decreased.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...fdad6104&ei=11

[Jimbuna]

China, Russia and Iran put on show of force with Mideast naval drills

Warships from China, Russia and Iran have held live-fire exercises in a key Middle Eastern waterway this week as the three partners put on a show of force in the volatile region, according to reports in state-run media.

The drills near the Gulf of Oman, involving more than 20 ships from the three countries, are “aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation and safeguarding regional peace and stability,” a statement from the Chinese Defense Ministry said, echoing similar language from Iran and Russia.

China’s navy sent a guided-missile destroyer and guided-missile frigate to the exercises, Russia dispatched the cruiser Varyag from its Pacific Fleet, and Iran contributed a range of vessels, including frigates and fast-attack boats, according to state-run media.

Scheduled to run through Friday, the exercises are in their sixth incarnation since 2018, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

But they coincide with the most turbulent time the region has seen over those six years, noted Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency.

“The joint exercise comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region,” it said, citing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, “which has threatened to spiral into a wider regional conflict.”

The Gaza conflict has already spread to international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired missiles and drones at international military and commercial vessels.

Iranian Rear Adm. Amrollah Nozari said the exercises cover 17,000 square kilometers (6,500 square miles) of sea in an area of strategic importance to the whole world.

“This area includes three of the world’s five strategic straits, located in the northern Indian Ocean region, which is a crucial hub for energy and trade traffic globally,” Nozari is quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The Iranian report also noted that the nation’s navy was introducing new vessels to this year’s exercises, “equipped for extended ocean missions” and armed with advanced domestically developed weaponry, though it did not specify what those weapons were.

Iran is a key supporter of both Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels. Many of the munitions used by both groups are believed to come from Tehran.

Iranian munitions, including its Shahed aerial drones, have also become an important part of Russia’s arsenal in its war on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, ties between China and Russia have deepened following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sparking deep suspicion in the West, including over concerns about Beijing’s position as Moscow’s key economic lifeline.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/13/m...hnk/index.html

[Jimbuna]

Houthis strike Chinese ship in Red Sea despite safe passage assurances

The Iran-backed Houthi terror group struck a Chinese ship amidst its blockade of the Red Sea, despite previously giving assurances that Chinese vessels would be given safe passage.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Yemeni Houthi militia launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, and Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker, US Central Command (Centcom) reported.

Soon after, a fifth ballistic missile was detected as having been fired toward M/V Huang Pu. The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance, sustaining minimal damage with no casualties reported.

However, the attack comes just days after Chinese and Russian officials met Mohammed Abdel Salam, the Houthi spokesman, in Oman to negotiate immunity from the blockade in one of the world’s most critical trade routes.
“The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels,” Centcom said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

China is a key economic partner to Iran, which has been heavily sanctioned for its nuclear program, rights abuses and support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also the biggest consumer of Iranian gas, along with Russia.

In exchange for giving Russian and Chinese ships safe passage, the Houthis were reportedly assured that they would be given support in key votes such as the UN Security Council, though publicly Beijing has called for a halt to their action in the Red Sea.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...37c683f9&ei=15

[Jimbuna]

US Navy aircraft carrier faces relentless battle against Houthi attacks

It's not just merchant ships being targeted by the Houthis in the Red Sea. The US carrier strike group trying to protect them has also been under constant threat too.

The BBC is the first British media to visit the USS Dwight D Eisenhower since it began this mission in November.

"This is deadly stuff," says Captain Dave Wroe, who commands the four US Navy destroyers which provide the extra protection for the carrier.

It arrived soon after Yemen's Houthi's began to target merchant vessels - they say in response to Israel's assault on Gaza.

Captain Wroe lists the threats they've been facing over the past four months: anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, and now unmanned underwater vessels, or UUVs, all loaded with explosives.

UUVs are the latest threat. He says the F-18 jets on board the carrier have recently destroyed UUVs, before they could be launched.

Captain Wroe says the Houthis have posed the greatest challenge to the US Navy in recent history.

"This is the most since World War Two," he says. That was the last time the US operated in an area where they could be fired upon every day.

The tempo of operations on the aircraft carrier itself has also been unrelenting - with dozens of sorties being flown round the clock.

We watch as the deck crew direct the F-18s with luminous sticks, which they use to manoeuvre the jets round the flight deck at night.

Up in the carrier's flight control tower, Commander George Zintac, known as the Air Boss, is having to choreograph their movements - with a jet either launching or landing in just over a minute.

He's been in the US Navy for more than 30 years, but says "this is probably the most flying I've done on a deployment - everyday we're flying a tonne".

In daylight you can see what they've been doing. On the side of each cockpit they've painted the silhouettes of the bombs they've dropped, the radar stations destroyed, and the drones they've shot down from the air. They've already fired more than 300 bombs and missiles.

Row after row of more munitions are lined up in the hangar, ready for loading.

From the USS Eisenhower, or Ike as she's called by the crew, you can still see a few large merchant ships - tankers and bulk carriers sailing in the distance. But they're fewer in number.

Normally, the Red Sea carries around 20% of the world's maritime trade. It's the key route to Europe through the Suez Canal. It's less vital to America, but they're the ones doing the most to try to restore freedom of navigation.

But even with the presence of a US carrier strike group, the Red Sea remains extremely dangerous waters.

While we're on board we're told the Houthis have fired another ballistic missile, traveling at more than three times the speed of sound. The crews on the US destroyers have just minutes to track them and shoot them down. On this occasion it's well out of range and the missile falls into the water.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68595451

[Jimbuna]

Russian warships enter the Red Sea, navy says

Several Russian warships have passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet said on Thursday, amid attacks by Yemen's Houthis on merchant shipping.

The Zvezda TV channel, owned by the defense ministry, quoted the fleet as saying the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov were taking part in the voyage.

Houthi terrorists in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea since November in support of Palestinians, the terror organization claims.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-794129

[Otto Harkaman]

The new routes of the Russian fleet: two warships are in the Red Sea, then they will enter the Mediterranean
by Gianluca Di Feo

The “Varyag” and “Maresciallo Shaposhnikov” indicate Moscow’s willingness to return to show its muscles. Meanwhile, three other boats are crossing the Sicilian Channel


https://www.repubblica.it/esteri/202...edium=referral

The "Varyag" refers to the **Russian cruiser Varyag (1983)**, which is a Slava-class guided missile cruiser currently in active service with the Russian Navy¹. It was originally named "Chervona Ukraina" and is now the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. The cruiser has a displacement of 11,490 tons and is equipped with various armaments, including anti-ship missiles and surface-to-air missiles.

On the other hand, "Maresciallo Shaposhnikov" likely refers to the **Russian frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov**, which is a modernized Udaloy-class destroyer reclassified as a frigate⁶. Commissioned in 1985, it serves in the Russian Pacific Fleet and was named after Boris Shaposhnikov, a Soviet military officer and Marshal of the Soviet Union. The frigate underwent a refit in 2017 and is equipped with updated weapon systems and sensors, including cruise missiles and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

Both vessels are significant components of Russia's naval capabilities in the Pacific region.



(1) Russian cruiser Varyag (1983) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia...yag_%281983%29.
(2) Russian frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia...l_Shaposhnikov.

[Jimbuna]

Russian, Chinese ships assured safe passage in Red Sea, Houthis claim

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthis promised Russia and China that their ships would not be targeted as they transited the Red Sea, a senior figure from the group said on Sunday, a day after it reportedly fired five missiles at a Chinese-owned oil tanker.

In an interview with Al-Masirah TV on Sunday, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council, said the Iran-backed militia called the Russian and Chinese embassies in Yemen and sent delegations to both countries to guarantee their ships’ safe passage.

“There are communications with the Russians and Chinese and they were reassured through their embassies and through the brothers who went there,” he said.

He did not say how Moscow or Beijing reacted to the guarantees or the missile strike on the Chinese ship.

Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship and launched hundreds of drones, missiles and remotely operated boats against foreign commercial and navy vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

They claim to target only vessels with links to or bound for Israel in a bid to pressure the country into allowing essential humanitarian aid, such as food and water, to enter the Gaza Strip.

The US Central Command said the Houthis on Saturday fired five ballistic missiles at M/V Huang Pu, a Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker sailing under the Panamanian flag, which caused only “minimal damage.” A fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries to the crew.

According to MarineTraffic, a website that provides information about ships’ positions and destinations, the Houthis targeted the tanker, which had set sail from Russia, despite it issuing a message that it had a Chinese owner and crew.

Despite reports by the US Central Command and international maritime agencies of attacks on ships, the Houthis’ military spokesperson Yahya Sarea has not appeared on the group’s media to claim credit for any strikes since March 19.

Al-Houthi dismissed the latest statement by the UN Security Council urging the Houthis to cease their attacks on ships and vowed to continue until Israel ended its blockade of Gaza.

“We don’t care what the Security Council says and if we did we wouldn’t have launched any operation in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab and the Indian Ocean,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government officials and human rights advocates have condemned the Houthis for killing civilians in the besieged city of Taiz.

On Sunday, residents said 17-year-old Amjed Mahmoud Al-Kasah was killed and Ali Ahmed Al-Sheikh, 30, was injured when a Houthi sniper opened fire in the Al-Zahra area of the city.

A photograph of the teenager was widely shared on Yemeni social media as people denounced the Houthis for murdering civilians and holding Taiz under siege.

Ishraq Al-Maqtari, a local activist, said the UN-brokered ceasefire that went into effect in April 2022 had not brought an end to the Houthi bombardment of residential areas.

“No one understands the reality about the ceasefire better than the people of #Taiz, particularly those who live close to the front lines in #Cairo, #Salah, #Al-Mudhaffar, and #Maqbanah,” she said on X.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482696/middle-east

[Jimbuna]

Israeli air strike destroys Iranian consulate in Syria - state media

An Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus, killing and wounding several people, Syrian authorities say.

A senior Revolutionary Guards commander Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi was among the dead, Iranian state media reported.

Pictures showed smoke and dust rising from the multi-storey building, which was next to the Iranian embassy on a highway in the western Mezzeh district.

The Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.

The Syrian defence ministry said Israeli aircraft targeted the consulate building from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights at about 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

Syrian air defences shot down some of the missiles they launched, but other missiles made it through and "destroyed the entire building, killing and injuring everyone inside", the ministry added.

The ministry said work was under way to recover the bodies and rescue the wounded from underneath the rubble, without giving any information about their identities.

Iranian state TV reported that those killed included Brig-Gen Zahedi, whom it identified as a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards' overseas operations arm, the Quds Force. Several diplomats were among the dead, state TV said.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the 63-year-old was "active in the Quds Force" from 2008 to 2016 and served as commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Lebanon.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria, reported that eight people were killed - a high-ranking leader of the Quds Force, two Iranian advisers and five members of the Revolutionary Guards.

Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on Iranian-linked targets in Syria in the past few years, but very rarely acknowledges the strikes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68708923

[Otto Harkaman]

US on high alert for Iran attack in region after Israeli strike in Syria: Report

The US and Israel are preparing for a potential attack from Iran, believed to be "inevitable" by senior officials.
The US warned Iran against targeting American assets, claiming no prior knowledge of the strike on Iran's embassy complex.
Iran vowed revenge after an Israeli strike in Damascus killed Iranian commanders, escalating tensions in the region.
https://ground.news/article/b176040f...d-3b097a34dedb


Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that seven Iranian military advisers died in the strike, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-795592

[em2nought]

If you were Captain Nemo you could have some hellacious fun right now pitting everyone against one another.

Somebody torpedoed my oil tanker!

I guess having a President who isn't even competent enough to stand trail can do the same thing.

[Skoaler]

God help us... Stuff is going wrong?