Iran deploys ‘Alborz’ destroyer to Red Sea

News Desk - The Cradle 

A day earlier, the US Navy sunk three Yemeni naval boats in the Red Sea, killing ten members of the Yemeni naval forces

The Iranian Navy dispatched its ‘IRIS Alborz (72)’ destroyer, operating as part of the 94^th flotilla of the Navy, to the Red Sea on 1 January, reported Iranian media. 

The warship crossed the Bab al-Mandab Strait and then entered the Red Sea on Monday, reported Mehr News Agency. 

The navy has established three ocean commands overseeing naval missions to the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. 

This comes as tensions continue to escalate in the Red Sea following the Yemeni Armed Forces’ naval operations against vessels heading to or linked to Israel in solidarity with Gaza.  

A day earlier, on 31 December, the US Navy sunk three Yemeni naval boats in the Red Sea, killing ten members of the Yemeni naval forces after their attack on a MaerskHangzhou container ship headed for Israel.

In a statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces said that “the American enemy bears the consequences of this crime and its repercussions.” 

Rather than moving to stop Israel’s unprecedented aggression on Gaza, the US has opted for the formation of a multinational coalition called ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ against Yemen in the Red Sea.

However, nearly half of the countries named as participants have not come forward to acknowledge their participation or contributions to the task force, and only Greece and the UK have deployed their warships to the Yemeni coast. 

The coalition’s purported aim is to protect international shipping. However, the Yemeni Armed Forces have repeatedly clarified that vessels not sailing to Israel or associated with Israel will not be harmed. 

Iranian Defense Minister Reza Ashtiani told Iranian media in mid-December that the US-led maritime task force would face “extraordinary problems,” explaining that “nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance.”

The US insists that Iran has been “deeply involved” in planning the Yemeni operations. The White House claimed on 22 December that the Yemeni naval forces rely on “Iranian-provided monitoring systems to launch attacks on commercial ships.”