Sophisticated helicopter-borne capture of Galaxy Leader, which experts say indicates Iranian know-how, opens a new maritime front in region long focused on the Persian Gulf
This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center via AP)
Published November 21, 2023
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The helicopter-borne Houthi attack on an Israel-linked ship in the Red Sea highlights the danger now lurking in one of the world’s key shipping routes as the Israel-Hamas war rages, with the rebels’ tactics mirroring those of its chief sponsor, Iran.
While Tehran has denied aiding the Yemen rebel group in launching its attack Sunday, before the assault the targeted ship passed by an American-sanctioned Iranian cargo vessel suspected as serving as a forward spying base in the Red Sea. The rebels, dressed commando-style in bulletproof vests carrying assault rifles, covered each other and moved in military formation before quickly seizing control of the bridge of the Galaxy Leader.
The Bahaman-flagged vessel is registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, who goes by Rami. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.
According to the Israeli military, the ship was sailing from Turkey to India with an international civilian crew, without any Israelis aboard.
While the Houthis’ body camera footage serves as a propaganda coup to bolster their position in Yemen amid some protests against their rule, it also signals the opening of a new maritime front in a region long focused on the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth at the Strait of Hormuz. It also puts new pressure on commercial shippers traveling through those waters, threatens to increase insurance costs that will get passed onto consumers, and likely further stretches the US Navy as it tries to serve as the region’s security guarantor.
“This has all the signs these people were trained by a professional military, which could clearly be Iran,” an American defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. “This looks like something we haven’t seen before.”
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SOURCE: www.timesofIsrael.com
RELATED: US considers re-designating Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as terror group
Houthi rebels fire anti-tank grenades during a military manoeuvre near Sanaa, Yemen, on October 30 [Houthi Media Centre/Handout via Reuters]
Published November 21, 2023
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the US has “begun a review” of whether it should re-designate the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as a terror organization following the group’s hijacking of an Israeli-tied ship in the Red Sea and the series of missile attacks it has launched at Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Kirby says the review was launched following “recent targeting of civilians by the Houthis” and “piracy of a ship in international waters.”
“The Houthis ought to release that ship immediately as well as the crew, and unconditionally,” Kirby says.
US President Joe Biden removed the Houthis terror designation shortly after entering the White House amid pressure from rights groups who said it was inhibiting efforts to supply aid to civilians in Yemen.
Kirby adds during a briefing that the US has identified an uptick in cooperation between Iran and Russia against Israel and Ukraine.
“Our information further indicates that [the] Wagner [Group], at the direction of the Russian government, was preparing to provide an air defense capability to either Hezbollah or Iran,” Kirby says.
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SOURCE: www.timesofIsrael.com
RELATED: Analysis: Can the US, Israel stop Yemen’s Houthis from seizing more ships?
Short of risking an escalation, there’s only one reasonable way the US can accomplish this — by quietly taking Iran’s help.
The Galaxy Leader is seen at the port of Koper, Slovenia on September 16, 2008. Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized the Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route on November 19, 2023 [Kristijan Bracun/AP Photo]
Published November 20, 2023
On Sunday, Houthi fighters hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.
The 189-metre-long (620ft-long) Galaxy Leader car carrier, travelling from Turkey to India, was intercepted by small fast boats and boarded by uniformed, armed personnel.
Other people rappelled from a helicopter to the deck, ordering the crew to alter course to the Yemeni port of Hodeida.
No shots were fired, and the seized ship is a civilian vessel sailing between neutral countries, but the incident still has the potential to trigger a serious escalation in the latest Israel-Palestine conflict.
In the worst-case scenario, it could be the first move in drawing the United States and Iran into direct involvement in the war.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare’e confirmed that the ship was seized for “being Israeli-owned” in line with his earlier announcement that the group would “not hesitate to target any Israeli vessel in the Red Sea or any place we can reach”. Israel has denied any link with the vessel although ownership details in public shipping databases suggest it is owned by one of Israel’s richest men.
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SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
