U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday, February 15, 2024, in Tampa, Florida, that the U.S. Coast Guard has seized advanced weapons and lethal relief supplies from Iran that were destined for Houthi-held territory in Yemen’s Red Sea on January 28. The boarding team discovered more than 200 packages containing intermediate-range ballistic missile parts, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) parts, military-grade communications and networking equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components. (Photo credit: CENTCOM/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Centcom | Anadolu | Getty Images
Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed six people on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, the first reported death toll from attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea in more than a year.
Within hours, the U.S. military announced it had fired a missile at a container ship that allegedly tried to break through Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman.
The two incidents show that the six-month war is wreaking havoc on two of the world’s most important shipping lanes, even as diplomats signal progress towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen’s Transport Ministry said the casualties included four crew members of the Egyptian-owned, Tanzanian-flagged vessel identified as the Tihama, three of whom were Pakistani and one Indonesian. Separately, the Yemeni Coast Guard announced that two members of the National Resistance Army, allied with the Yemeni government, were also killed in additional attacks during the rescue operation.
“The Houthi terrorist militia takes full responsibility for the deaths, injuries and damage caused to the merchant ship ‘Tihama’ and the serious consequences of these attacks,” Yemen’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement, according to Google Translate from Arabic.
Houthi-aligned media subsequently reported that Houthi forces targeted a ship carrying Saudi military equipment, but the group has not officially stated the number of casualties.
Iran-aligned groups declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20 in retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s “siege” of Yemen after the collapse of a long-standing ceasefire in Yemen’s civil war, a claim denied by Riyadh.
Separately, U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday that a Navy helicopter fired two missiles at the Panamanian-flagged Bellanova, disabling it from maneuvering and propulsion after the crew ignored warnings while sailing through the Gulf of Oman.
Centcom said the ship was attempting to break through a naval blockade reimposed on Iranian ports by the US government in mid-April. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Since the blockade went into effect, the U.S. military has diverted 55 commercial ships attempting to break through the blockade, disabled three non-compliant vessels and boarded two, according to Centcom.
The maritime hostilities come amid a diplomatic impasse between the United States and Iran. Last weekend, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued sweeping demands for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including lifting the U.S. naval blockade, easing sanctions, withdrawing U.S. troops, and receiving war reparations.
President Donald Trump responded by demanding Iran pay its own reparations. The impasse makes a return to normal shipping even more difficult, even as Iran and Oman make progress toward agreeing a new transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the conflict began in late February, traffic through the strait accounted for 20% of global oil trade, but now very little is flowing. The waterway disruptions caused by the war caused a global energy supply shock, causing oil prices to rise sharply and causing broader economic consequences.
Oil prices are rising on the back of new tensions. brent crude oil futures Prices for October delivery rose 0.6% to $89.44 a barrel on Wednesday, extending gains that rose more than 7% this week, according to LSEG data. West Texas Intermediate In September, it increased by 0.7% to $83.8.
“Current rhetoric suggests a potential deal is still a long way off, meaning risks remain biased towards the upside for oil prices,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at ING.
But there are some signs that diplomatic efforts are continuing. A senior Pakistani official said Tuesday that the United States and Iran are close to “some kind of agreement” over the Strait of Hormuz, offering a glimmer of hope for a deal even as the belligerents appear to be increasing their willingness to negotiate.
According to Bloomberg, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters that “things are starting to take shape again towards a peace deal and an agreement.”
The Pakistani official’s comments came after a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera that negotiations between Iran and Oman on opening a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz were at a “critical juncture”.
