Yemen's Houthis Resume Attacks on Ships and Mobilize More Fighters

The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group began the third phase of the Popular Mobilization Forces for what it calls the "Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood" after it mobilized thousands of people in the previous two phases, local sources told Sheba Intelligence on Sunday.

 The first phase focused on receiving and training volunteers in the camps, while the second focused on opening cultural and military courses in the main cities.

The source pointed out that the third phase has focused on "launching cultural and military courses in small villages and isolated areas" to attract more fighters.

Meanwhile, military sources confirmed that the Houthi group yesterday fired six missiles at targets in the Red Sea, and the missiles were launched from Al-Jawf, Abs in Hajjah province, and the Houthi air defense operations center at Al-Jand Airport in Al-Hawban, Taiz.

An American warship was targeted with four UAVs fired from Yemen, the U.S. military said late Saturday night. In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said the USS Laboon "shot down four unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to" the frigate.

Last week, sources told Sheba Intelligence that Iran had given the Houthi group the green lightto target the American warships in the Red Sea.

The U.S. statement said the Laboon also responded to distress calls after attacks on the M/V BLAAMANEN, a Norwegian-flagged and -owned tanker, which was nearly hit by an attack drone, and the M/V SAIBABA, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude tanker that did suffer a strike.

According to the statement, "These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since October 17."

Moreover, the U.S. Central Command said two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas at the shipping lanes, but no vessels were impacted.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said that it received a report on Saturday about two incidents off the Yemeni coast, near the ports of Al-Salif and Al-Hudaydah, which indicated that the Houthis have resumed their war on shipping lanes in the Red Sea after days of de-escalation.

On Saturday, a drone assault caused a fire on board the Israeli "Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker as it had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement that Iran is providing weapons, funding, training, and "tactical intelligence" to enable the strikes along the critical sea corridor.

"Iranian support throughout the Gaza crisis has enabled the Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis," Watson said.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said yesterday the Mediterranean Sea could be closed if the United States and its allies continued to commit "crimes" in Gaza, Iranian media reported on Saturday, without explaining how that would happen.

Tasnim quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, coordinating commander of the Guards, saying, "They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, (the Strait of) Gibraltar and other waterways."

However, Iran's deputy foreign minister dismissed the U.S. accusation, saying the group was acting on its own.

"The resistance has its own tools… and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri told the Mehr news agency.

Recently, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks with drones and missiles, targeting ten commercial ships. On Friday, the White House published American intelligence information accusing Iran of providing the Houthis with drones and missiles and tactical intelligence information, and this information is similar to a previous report published by ShebaIntelligence.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said earlier Saturday that Washington had previously asked Iran to advise Yemeni rebels not to act against U.S. and Israeli interests in the region. But he said the attacks are "a completely Yemeni decision in support and defense of Gaza."
 

Washington recently announced the formation of an international naval coalition to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea under the name "Guardian of Prosperity," and it remains possible that this coalition will strike the Houthis if Houthi attacks on shipping lanes are going to continue.

Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani rejected the U.S. plan to form a naval multinational coalition, calling it "irrational". He added that the region has no room for any more power struggles, and if Washington's decision is executed, it will face "extraordinary problems."

There has been relative calm in the Red Sea in the past few days, and reports said  Houthis listened to Omani advice to reduce the escalation in the shipping lanes.