Navy Says Its Nabbed ‘Lethal’ Iranian Missile Components Heading to Houthis, 2 SEALs Missing

The US and UK strikes on Houthi infrastructure did not stem Houthi attacks. On January 15 the group struck US commercial ship Gibraltar Eagle with anti-ship ballistic missile. A day earlier, Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward US warship USS Laboon (DDG 58) operating in the Southern Red Sea, CENTCOM said.

“Iran has empowered and enabled these Houthi attacks in the maritime space,” Jonathan Lord, director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security told Breaking Defense. “Tehran has and continues to provide the Houthis the advanced weaponry and intelligence they need to attack ships in the Red Sea, the Bab Al Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Hormuz, and even the Indian Ocean.”

He highlighted DoD’s earlier announcement that it bombed radar stations in Yemen that the Houthis used to track maritime traffic. “Those radars weren’t built in Sanaa,” Lord said, referring to the Yemeni capital. “Iran has created the Houthi threat that exists today.”

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