Shadow war: Houthi attacks paved way for Iran's naval supremacy - analysis

Iran sees a benefit to the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis began their attacks after the Hamas attack on Israel in October and have since attacked numerous ships. These attacks led the US and other countries to focus on protecting shipping. However, it has benefited Iran and Iran’s allies Russia and China.

Iran now sees this as a major benefit. As the West is distracted by the Houthis, Iran can now enjoy a new era of naval supremacy in the region. This isn’t because Iran’s navy is very large, it’s because the Houthis have become so central to the region.

“Today, the safest shipping lanes belong to those vessels carrying the Iranian flags, Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami said on Saturday during the visit of President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters,” Iran’s IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

A shadow war: Iran and Israel battle for maritime dominance

The report noted that prior to the Gaza war “the Israeli regime had secretly targeted 14 vessels of the Islamic Republic in order not to let the country export oil, General Salami said, adding that ‘we, too, targeted 12 of their ships.’”

This is an interesting new piece of data from Iranian state media. Basically it is saying there was a shadow naval conflict before October 7 and extensive Houthi involvement. Now that Israel is distracted by the Gaza war Iran feels it has achieved a net gain at sea.

The report goes on to note that “the IRGC made efforts to secure the shipping lanes, break the sanctions, manage the pandemic and take control over the Takfiri terrorist groups from outside the country.” Iranian officials now say they have “closed all doors the enemy had opened.”