By Al-Fassel | 2024-05-09

As the Houthis threatened last week to extend their attacks on shipping to the Mediterranean Sea, an Iranian warship embarked on a mysterious mission in oceanic waters and international forces shot down two drones off Yemen.

In a May 3 statement, the Houthis said their escalation would take effect "immediately," though it is unclear how much of a threat the Iran-backed group will pose to Mediterranean ports about 2,000km from Yemen, AFP reported.

In March, Russian state media reported that the Houthis have a hypersonic missile in their arsenal, though the United States has said there is "absolutely no indication" that the Houthis have such a weapon.

That news came as the Houthis' leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, on March 14 announced that his group would start targeting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope, after months of attacks in the Red Sea.

Following the Houthis' latest warning, an Iranian warship operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) embarked on a mission of "an undisclosed nature" in oceanic waters, Al-Arabiya reported May 6.

Per semi-official Iranian media outlet Fars, the aircraft carrier Shahid Mahdavi has reportedly reached the waters of the southern hemisphere.

Iranian drone carriers

In a March 7, 2023, report, the Middle East Institute (MEI) said it had learned the IRGC's navy was converting two merchant container ships owned by the sanctioned state shipping line IRISL Group into its first aircraft carriers.

"The Shahid Mahdavi and the Shahid Bagheri will presumably become part of the Iranian Navy's drone carrier division, which comprises several ships and submarines," it said.

The two ships are being designed to carry helicopters and runway-launched, fixed-wing drones, including the Shahed-136, which has a range of about 2,000km.

According to Iranian media, the carriers will increase Iran's long-range surveillance and strike capabilities in the Middle East and beyond, MEI said, and may be used to carry out "asymmetric and opportunistic" strikes.

"As Iran did with its drones, it could export this capability to state and quasi- or non-state partners and proxies in the Middle East and around the world," the MEI report said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

On May 6 and 7, a coalition ship intercepted a Houthi drone and US forces "successfully engaged" another, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

A third drone crashed into the Gulf of Aden and the Houthis also fired an anti-ship ballistic missile at the busy trade route, CENTCOM said.

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely are back in the Red Sea after a short port visit in Greece, USNI News reported May 6.