Iran’s Alborz warship entered the Red Sea through the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, amid heightened tensions over the globally important waterway.
The agency did not give a specific reason for the deployment, but noted that Iranian military vessels had been operating in the area since 2009.
“The Alborz destroyer entered the Red Sea by passing through the Bab al-Mandeb, a waterway at the southern tip of the Red Sea that connects to the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean,” the agency said.
It added that the Iranian navy has been operating in the area “since 2009 for the purpose of securing shipping lanes, repelling pirates, etc.”
In early December, the United States launched a multinational naval mission in the Red Sea after a series of missile and drone attacks on commercial ships by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels led shipping companies to suspend transit through the area. Established troops.
The Houthis say the attack is in solidarity with Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting Hamas militants.
According to the International Chamber of Shipping, 12 percent of world trade passes through the Red Sea, which provides a shortcut through Africa via the Suez Canal.
On Sunday, a U.S. Navy helicopter opened fire on Houthi rebels as they tried to board a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, and the rebels said 10 of their fighters were killed or missing.
Houthi attacks and US airstrikes raise risk of wider Middle East war
Houthi attacks and US airstrikes raise risk of wider Middle East war
Tensions in the region have been rising since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7.
On Monday, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain was “ready to take direct action” against the Houthis “to thwart the threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron spoke on Sunday with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian about tensions in the Red Sea.
“Iran has made clear that it also shares the responsibility to prevent these attacks,” he said on social media, citing Tehran’s “longstanding support” for the Houthis.
Abdullahian criticized the “double standards” of some Western countries and said “the Israeli regime cannot be allowed to set the region on fire” with the Gaza war, according to a statement from Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
The US previously accused Iran of being “deeply involved” in the Houthi attacks. Iran denies the accusations, saying the Houthi rebels are acting independently.
In 2021, the Alborz repelled pirate attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden.
And in 2015, it was one of two Iranian warships sent to the strait “to ensure the safety of commercial shipping,” which was seen at the time as a sign of tensions with Saudi Arabia.