The Red Sea continues to grow busy with the presence of naval assets, as the West and its allies attempt to keep international shipping lanes open despite the threat of Houthi missiles and drones launched from Yemen. This has lately included nations such as Denmark, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sending military ships to regional waters as well.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken while meeting with Arab leaders over the weekend before he arrived in Israel Monday evening said, "These attacks are having a real effect on the prices that people have to pay for food, for medicine, for energy. Ships have to get diverted to other places. Insurance rates go up."
Maritime and industry analyst Sam Chambers has observed, "Over the weekend, the number of transits through the Suez Canal fell to the lowest since the waterway was blocked by the Ever Given containership in early 2021, according to Inchcape Shipping Services."
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| Iranian warship Alborz, file image, Fars News Agency/AP |
But amid the heavy presence Western coalition military ships, there is now an Iranian frigate parked in the Red Sea after its arrival starting nearly a week ago. "2024 was only a few hours old when Iran dispatched a warship, the frigate Alborz, to the Red Sea," FP recently noted. "Its arrival was yet more bad news for shipping, already facing a crisis from the Iran-backed Houthi attacks on merchant vessels."
Iran's Foreign Ministry has issued a new statement warning Israel and America against 'adventurism' which will expand war in the region:
"Iran issues a stern warning against any US adventurism that could endanger regional peace,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tuesday in a letter directed to the US and its allies, a week after Iran’s Navy deployed a cruise missile-armed warship in the region.
Tehran has also rejected as "baseless" the charge that the Houthis are receiving support from the Iranians as they carry out attacks on international shipping.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always placed great importance on maritime security and freedom of navigation and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding its international obligations and maintaining peace and security in the region," Amb. Iravani continued in his statement.
As we pointed out Monday morning, there are no container ships with destinations for Europe and North America in the Red Sea.
Washington's position has been that Iran is even helping the Houthis with intelligence related to targeting. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Christopher Lu lately accused Iran of involvement "in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea," and asserted that "the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels" without support from Tehran.
Interestingly, the US has also said Iran uses surveillance ships in regional waters to assist with Houthi drone and missile launches.
Meanwhile...
Another British warship has been dispatched to the Red Sea. https://t.co/J0gkZ2t38N
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) January 9, 2024
(Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com)