Houthis Are Firing Iranian Missiles: US

Yemen's Houthi rebels likely fired an Iranian-made anti-ship cruise missile at a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea in December, providing a public, evidence-based link between the ongoing rebel campaign against shipping and Tehran, the US military says. A report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency released Wednesday linked the attack on the Strinda, which set the vessel ablaze, to Tehran, the Houthis' main backer in Yemen's nearly decadelong war. The findings come as the Houthis continue a monthslong campaign of attacks over the Israel-Hamas war, targeting ships in the Red Sea corridor, disrupting the $1 trillion flow of goods passing through it annually while also sparking the most intense combat the US Navy has seen since World War II. More, per the AP:

• The incident: The Strinda was coming from Malaysia and bound for the Suez Canal and then onto Italy with a cargo of palm oil when it was struck by a missile Dec. 11. The attack sparked a major fire on board that the crew later extinguished without anyone being hurt.
• The analysis: The DIA compared the pieces of the engine from the missile found on board to the Iranian Noor anti-ship ballistic cruise missile. "The Iranian Tolu-4 turbojet engine, used in the Noor (missile), has unique features ... that are consistent with engine debris recovered from the ... Houthi attack on the M/T Strinda," the DIA report said.
• Concurring opinion: The Norwegian Shipowners' Mutual War Risks Insurance Association also examined the debris following the Strinda attack. The association assessed it was "highly likely" the vessel had been hit by a C-802 or Noor anti-ship cruise missile.
• Back to Iran: Iran long has denied arming the Houthis, however, the US and its allies have seized multiple arms shipments bound for the rebels in Mideast waters. While the US has previously accused Iran of supplying the missiles the Houthis use in their attacks at sea, Wednesday's report provided photographic evidence for the first time. The report pointed to a seizure stemming from a Jan. 11 nighttime raid of an Iranian dhow traveling near the coast of Somalia, which saw two Navy SEALs killed. The Navy seized parts related to the Noor anti-ship cruise missile.

(More Houthis stories.)