Latest news with #Mohammedal-Basha
Mint
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Iran is moving to rearm its militia allies
Iran suffered a significant setback when Israel killed top military leaders and the U.S. struck its nuclear facilities, but a pattern of high-value weapons seizures shows Tehran is making new efforts to arm its militia allies across the Middle East. Forces allied with Yemen's internationally recognized government this week intercepted a major shipment of missiles, drone parts and other military gear sent to Houthi rebels on the Red Sea coast. Syria's new government says it has seized a number of weapons cargoes, including Grad rockets—for use in multiple-launch systems mounted on trucks—along its borders with Iraq and Lebanon. The Lebanese army, meanwhile, has seized shipments brought in across its border with Syria that include Russian antitank missiles favored by Hezbollah. 'Iran is rebuilding its presence in the Levant by sending missiles to Hezbollah and weapons from Iraq to Syria," said Michael Knights, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy with expertise in Iran's militia allies. Yemeni forces said Wednesday they had seized a record number of Iranian missiles destined for the Houthis. The shipment was intercepted by the National Resistance Force, a military coalition aligned with the Yemeni government. The U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for America's military operations in the Middle East, said it was the National Resistance Force's largest seizure of advanced Iranian conventional weapons—750 tons of cruise missiles, antiship and antiaircraft missiles, warheads, targeting components and drone engines. The shipments were hidden aboard a ship called a dhow, beneath declared cargoes of air conditioners. They included Iranian-developed Qader antiship missiles and components for the Saqr air-defense system, which the Houthis have used to bring down U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones. Previous seizures by the Yemeni and U.S. governments generally yielded small arms or spare parts rather than fully assembled missiles. The seizure comes just weeks after a cease-fire stopped Israel's 12-day air campaign against Iran—a series of attacks that demonstrated Iran's vulnerability despite the arsenal of missiles and militia allies it had built up to protect itself. The U.S. joined in the attack by bombing key Iranian nuclear facilities. This spring, the U.S. pounded Houthi positions for nearly two months in an effort that ended with a cease-fire and left the Houthis looking for more high-end hardware. 'The timing and scale of this shipment strongly suggest Iran is moving quickly to replenish Houthi stockpiles depleted by U.S. airstrikes," said Mohammed al-Basha, founder of U.S.-based Middle East security advisory Basha Report. It shows Tehran wants to 'sustain their high operational tempo targeting Israel and commercial maritime traffic," he said. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei on Thursday said any claim Tehran had sent weapons to Yemen was baseless. The resupply effort might already be yielding results. Last week, Houthi fighters used rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and drones to sink two merchant ships in the Red Sea, killing at least three crew members and taking others hostage. The militant group has also been lobbing ballistic missiles at Israel for weeks, though most are intercepted. While the seized cargoes transited through the East African country of Djibouti, which sits across the mouth of the Red Sea from Yemen, the National Resistance Force found multiple documents in Farsi indicating their origin was Iran. The documents included a manual for cameras used to guide antiaircraft missiles and a quality certificate attached to a missile fin manufactured by an Iranian company. Iran's efforts to move weapons to Hezbollah have been extensive as well. The militant group was forced into a cease-fire last fall after an Israeli campaign of covert operations, airstrikes and a ground incursion wiped out most of its arsenal and leadership. There has been 'an intensifying trend in recent months of smuggling attempts via or originating from Syria" to Lebanon's Hezbollah, said Michael Cardash, the former deputy head of the bomb disposal division at Israel's national police. The arms pipeline has been crimped by the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, which was aligned with Iran, and its replacement by a hostile government. Traffickers now have to bring in arms in small shipments after previously sending truckloads, said Cardash, who is now in charge of explosives research at Israeli security consulting firm Terrogence. In one example in June, the Interior Ministry of the new Syrian government announced it had seized Russian-made Kornet antitank missiles en route to Lebanon in a truck transporting cucumbers. In May, the General Security branch intercepted Iranian-made air-defense missiles near the Lebanese border, according to media outlets affiliated with the new Syrian government. Despite extensive efforts to keep Hezbollah from restocking its battered arsenal, the militant group, like the Houthis, has had some success. It manufactures its own drones and medium-range rockets, and has managed to restructure its smuggling networks to a degree and smuggle in some Kornets and other sophisticated weaponry, a person familiar with the group's operations said. Write to Benoit Faucon at
Euronews
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
US strikes on Yemeni port kill 74 in deadliest attack under Trump, Houthi rebels say
ADVERTISEMENT US air strikes on Yemen's Ras Isa oil port have killed at least 74 people and injured more than 100, according to the Iran-backed Houthis, in what appears to be the deadliest such incident since President Donald Trump launched a new military campaign against the rebels last month. The Houthis, who released graphic footage of the aftermath, claimed the strike targeted civilian workers. The blast engulfed the facility in flames and sent fireballs into the sky. In a statement released on Friday, US Central Command defended the attack, saying American forces had struck to "eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years." The Pentagon did not comment on civilian casualties and declined to respond to questions from the media. Houthi supporters burn American and Israeli flags during a rally in Sanaa, 18 April, 2025 AP Photo The strike on Ras Isa, located in Yemen's western Hodeida province, represents a major escalation in a campaign that began on 15 March. However, neither the number of strikes nor the full toll has been publicly disclosed. The Ras Isa port is the endpoint of a key oil pipeline from Marib, a government-held region rich in energy resources. Though oil exports have halted due to the ongoing civil war, the Houthis have reportedly used the facility to import fuel for years. Yemen analyst Mohammed al-Basha said the Ras Isa strike was the "first mass-casualty incident the Houthis have openly acknowledged and publicised." He contrasted it with earlier strikes, including one that may have killed up to 70 Houthi fighters, which the group has remained silent about. "This completely unjustified aggression represents a flagrant violation of Yemen's sovereignty and independence and a direct targeting of the entire Yemeni people," the Houthis said in a statement carried by the SABA news agency. "It targets a vital civilian facility that has served the Yemeni people for decades," they added. Houthi supporters chant slogans during an anti-US rally in Sanaa, 18 April, 2025 AP Photo The US State Department warned on 9 April that it would sanction any country or company providing support to the Houthis, including through oil shipments at Houthi-controlled ports. Later on Friday, the Houthis reportedly launched a missile toward Israel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces. Allegations of Chinese involvement Meanwhile, the conflict continues to draw in wider global powers. The US accused Chinese firm Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. of helping the Houthis by supplying satellite images to support their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called it "directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests." "Beijing's support of that company, the satellite company, even after we've engaged in discussions with them about this, certainly contradicts their claims of being peace supporters," Bruce added. ADVERTISEMENT Related 'Ruled by warlords eating from rubbish bins': Yemenis reflect on one decade of devastating civil war Pentagon watchdog to review Hegseth's use of Signal to convey Yemen strike plans What is Signal and should US officials have used it to share Yemen air strike plans? Chang Guang, which had already been sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2023 for reportedly providing satellite imagery to Russia's Wagner Group, has not responded to the new allegations. The Houthis who are ideologically aligned with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas have repeatedly targeted vessels in the Red Sea they say are linked to Israel. The US campaign shows no indication of slowing, as the Trump administration has also tied its airstrikes on the Houthis to broader efforts to exert pressure on Iran over its rapidly growing nuclear programme. A second round of negotiations between Iran and the US is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Rome. ADVERTISEMENT
Saudi Gazette
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
US strikes on Yemeni port kill 74 in deadliest attack under Trump
BRUSSELS — US air strikes on Yemen's Ras Isa oil port have killed at least 74 people and injured more than 100, according to the Iran-backed Houthis, in what appears to be the deadliest such incident since President Donald Trump launched a new military campaign against the rebels last month. The Houthis, who released graphic footage of the aftermath, claimed the strike targeted civilian workers. The blast engulfed the facility in flames and sent fireballs into the sky. In a statement released on Friday, US Central Command defended the attack, saying American forces had struck to "eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years." The Pentagon did not comment on civilian casualties and declined to respond to questions from the media. The strike on Ras Isa, located in Yemen's western Hodeida province, represents a major escalation in a campaign that began on 15 March. However, neither the number of strikes nor the full toll has been publicly disclosed. The Ras Isa port is the endpoint of a key oil pipeline from Marib, a government-held region rich in energy resources. Though oil exports have halted due to the ongoing civil war, the Houthis have reportedly used the facility to import fuel for years. Yemen analyst Mohammed al-Basha said the Ras Isa strike was the "first mass-casualty incident the Houthis have openly acknowledged and publicized." He contrasted it with earlier strikes, including one that may have killed up to 70 Houthi fighters, which the group has remained silent about. "This completely unjustified aggression represents a flagrant violation of Yemen's sovereignty and independence and a direct targeting of the entire Yemeni people," the Houthis said in a statement carried by the SABA news agency. "It targets a vital civilian facility that has served the Yemeni people for decades," they added. The US State Department warned on 9 April that it would sanction any country or company providing support to the Houthis, including through oil shipments at Houthi-controlled ports. Later on Friday, the Houthis reportedly launched a missile toward Israel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces. Meanwhile, the conflict continues to draw in wider global powers. The US accused Chinese firm Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. of helping the Houthis by supplying satellite images to support their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called it "directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests." "Beijing's support of that company, the satellite company, even after we've engaged in discussions with them about this, certainly contradicts their claims of being peace supporters," Bruce added. Chang Guang, which had already been sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2023 for reportedly providing satellite imagery to Russia's Wagner Group, has not responded to the new allegations. The Houthis who are ideologically aligned with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas have repeatedly targeted vessels in the Red Sea they say are linked to Israel. The US campaign shows no indication of slowing, as the Trump administration has also tied its airstrikes on the Houthis to broader efforts to exert pressure on Iran over its rapidly growing nuclear program. A second round of negotiations between Iran and the US is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Rome. — Euronews
