Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have a new hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russian state media reported Thursday, raising the stakes for their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways amid a war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The report, via official news firm RIA Novosti, quoted an unnamed official but provided no evidence for the claim. This comes as Moscow maintains an aggressive, counter-Western foreign policy amid its bitter war against Ukraine.
However, the Houthis have been hinting for weeks at the “surprises” they are preparing for battles at sea to counter the US. and their allies, who have controlled both to shoot down any bomb-carrying missile or drone that approaches their warships in the Middle Oriente. de Waters.
On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the ideal secret leader of the Houthis, said the rebels would begin attacking ships heading to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. So far, the rebels have largely attacked ships. They are heading towards the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, and such an escalation would point to the alternative, longer direction used by some ships. It is not yet clear how they would carry out an imaginable attack.
Meanwhile, Iran and the United States have reportedly held indirect talks in Oman, the first in months amid long-simmering tensions over the advancement of Tehran’s nuclear program and attacks through its proxies.
Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, claims to have a hypersonic missile and has largely armed the rebels with the missiles they now use. The addition of a hypersonic missile to its arsenal may pose an even more formidable challenge to air defense. systems contracted through the U. S. and its allies, in addition to Israel.
“The group’s missile forces have effectively tested a missile capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and running on counterfeit fuel,” an army officer close to the Houthis said, according to the RIA report. The Houthis “intend to begin producing it for use in attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel. “
Mach 8 is 8 the speed of sound.
Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, can pose demanding situations for missile defense systems due to their speed and maneuverability.
Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory in which anti-missile systems such as the U. S. -made Patriot can anticipate their trajectory and intercept them. The more abnormal a missile’s flight path, such as a hypersonic missile capable of changing direction, the more complicated it becomes to intercept.
It is believed that China, like the United States, will obtain weapons. Russia claims to have already used them.
In Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi boasted that his fighters “continue to expand the effectiveness and success of our operations in spaces and places that the enemy never expects. “He said they would prevent ships “linked to the Israeli enemy from crossing the Indian Ocean. . . in the direction of the Cape of Good Hope. “
The Houthis have attacked ships since November, saying they sought to force Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza, introduced in reaction to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. However, the ships attacked by the Houthis have little or no ties to Israel. , the United States, or other countries involved in the war. The rebels have also fired missiles into Israel, but they have largely missed or been intercepted.
The Houthis have no army or weapons that reach the remote distances of the Indian Ocean, making it difficult for them to threaten at the Cape of Good Hope. However, Iran is suspected of attacking Israeli-linked vessels in the Indian Ocean in the past. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for attacks believed to have been carried out through Iran in the past, such as the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia that temporarily halved its oil production.
After seizing Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the Houthis looted the government’s arsenals, which contained Soviet-era missiles and Scud weapons.
When the Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict in Yemen on behalf of its government-in-exile in 2015, the Houthis’ arsenal came under attack. Soon, and despite the fact that Yemen had no missile-making infrastructure, new missiles fell into the hands of the rebels.
Houthi supporters attend a rally over U. S. airstrikes in Yemen and Israel’s Palestinian offensive in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Iran has long denied arming the Houthis, most likely because of a year-old United Nations arms embargo imposed on the rebels. However, the U. S. and its allies have seized several arms shipments destined for rebels in Middle Eastern waters. connected Houthi weapons seized on the battlefield to Iran.
Iran also now claims to have a hypersonic weapon. In June, Iran unveiled its Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi, missile, which it described as a hypersonic missile. He described it as being in development.
Iran’s U. N. draft responded to a request for comment on Thursday. Asked about the hypersonic claim, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, “We don’t have any indication that they have even that capability. “
The Israeli military declined to comment.
Also on Thursday, the Financial Times reported that the U. S. and Iran held indirect talks in Oman in January, which the U. S. hoped would end attacks in the Red Sea. The last known circular of such talks was published last May.
Iran’s official news firm IRNA reported on the talks, but insisted they were “simply limited to negotiations on the lifting of sanctions against Iran. “
The U. S. State Department did not deny the January talks in a statement to The Associated Press, saying, “We have many channels to convey messages to Iran. “
“Since October 7, all (communications) have focused on the full diversity of threats emanating from Iran and Iran’s desire to stop its widespread escalation,” he added.
The attacks on the ships raised the profile of the Houthis, whose Zaydi people ruled a kingdom in Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962. The addition of a new weapon boosts this prestige and puts more pressure on Israel after a ceasefire agreement fails. ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In early March, a Houthi missile hit a ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three members of its crew and forcing survivors to abandon ship. It is the Houthis’ first deadly attack on a ship.
Other recent moves by the Houthis include an attack last month on a ship carrying fertilizers, the Rubymar, which then sank after being adrift for several days.
A new suspected Houthi attack targeted a shipment in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, but failed to achieve the shipment and there was no damage, the British Army’s maritime advertising operations center in the United Kingdom said. A subsequent attack also failed a shipment in the Red Sea off Yemen’s port. Hodeidah city, the outlet said Friday morning.
Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he would not be surprised if Iran transferred a new hypersonic weapon to the Houthis. The question, however, is how maneuverable such a weapon would be at hypersonic speeds and whether it can hit moving targets, such as ships in the Red Sea.
“I don’t rule out the option of the Houthis having a formula with some maneuverability to some extent,” Hinz said. “It is also conceivable that the Iranians would move new curtains for the Houthis to test. “
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