By Al-Fassel | 2024-08-01

Russia may be planning to arm the Houthis in Yemen with advanced anti-ship missiles as the Iranian regime proxy continues to threaten commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, US intelligence agencies have warned.

While it is not clear if Russian missiles have yet been delivered to the Houthis, recently taken aerial photographs show a rendezvous between a large Russian ship and smaller Houthi boats, which then ferried crates to shore, according to a reliable US government source.

If indeed the crates contained missiles or other armaments, it would be an irresponsible and dangerous escalation of the security situation in the region, observers say.

While regional countries, particularly Gulf Cooperation Council members, are working to ease tensions and restore navigational security in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, Russia is fishing in troubled waters by giving the Houthis deadly weapons.

On a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last December, Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to portray Russia as a strong ally, worthy trade partner and peace advocate.

But Russia's involvement with the Houthis, a group designated as terrorists by several countries, belies the Kremlin's purported friendly ambitions.

It may also be a fool's errand.

Although the Houthis on more than one occasion promised safe passage for Russian and Chinese ships, a new report shows that ships carrying Russian goods have been attacked more than shipments from any other part of the world.

Ships carrying Russian goods

No Russian-owned ships have been attacked, but 19% of the 83 ships listed by the United Kingdom as being attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden had Russia "as their most recent port call," Bloomberg reported July 25.

In one attack July 15, the Houthis targeted a crude oil tanker, Chios Lion, which was carrying Russian oil products to China, according to shipping databases.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree even celebrated the event in posts on social media July 16, providing further evidence of the group's unpredictability and recklessness.

Russia has ignored international calls for de-escalation and its support for the Houthis will undermine regional security, observers say.

Meanwhile, the US-led coalition to protect the waterway has eliminated "a significant amount of Houthi capability," a US defense official told The Wall Street Journal.

"Hundreds of missiles and launchers, hundreds of attack drones, dozens of storage facilities for weapons and equipment, numerous command and control targets, air defense systems, radars and several helicopters" have been destroyed, the newspaper reported July 19.