Yemen's Houthis Deploy Naval Missiles and Maintain Warplanes in Preparation for U.S. Attacks

Military sources told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthi group expects naval and air attacks on some of its missile and military centers by American or allied forces in response to its seizure of the Israeli-linked ship Galaxy Leader and its continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

The sources indicated that, during the past two days, the Houthis deployed more Rubik naval missiles along the coastal strip and some islands where there are naval operations rooms. Rubik naval missiles are Russian missiles that the Houthis announced they possessed in September 2022 and have a range of about 80 km.

The military sources confirmed that the group is carrying out maintenance on more warplanes that were owned by the Yemeni state. The warplanes have been hidden since the start of the Arab coalition military campaign in March 2015. The campaign stopped in April 2022. The sources indicated that the Houthis began transporting more MiG and Sukhoi aircraft from the areas on the outskirts of Sanaa to Al-Dailami Air Base to reactivate it.

On Thursday, John F. Kirby, a national security spokesman for President Biden, said the Houthi attacks threatened to escalate tensions in the region: "It's clearly a risk to the potential widening and deepening of the conflict."

U.S. officials say the American army has a list of Houthi targets in Yemen, and the forces await orders from the Biden administration. However, the officials said Washington does not want to risk a wider regional war.

In the same vein, The pace of the information war between American and Iranian intelligence in the Red Sea has escalated recently after the Houthis kidnapped Israeli ships and threatened American and British ships in the international shipping lanes.

A Yemeni intelligence source said that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency requested information from the Yemeni government about Iran's support mechanism for the Houthis with advanced weapons and the routes for transporting, smuggling, shipping, and storing ballistic missiles and drones from Iran to Yemen.

Informed sources previously told Sheba Intelligence that an imminent strike by international forces, possibly American, will be carried out if the Houthis do not release the Israeli-linked ship Galaxy Leader that was seized on November 19. 

 The source indicated that the strike may hit important Houthi military sites inside and around the capital, Sana'a, in addition to the naval operations rooms in the coastal areas, especially in the ports of Al-Hudaydah, Al-Salif, Al-Luhaya, and Kamaran Island.