A vessel smuggling foreign experts and military materials for missile production destined for Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen has gone missing in the Red Sea, media reports say.
The vessel, now missing for three days, has triggered a patrol and reconnaissance mission by the Houthis, as reported by UAE-based Al-Ain news website.
"Iranian experts and senior Houthi security leaders participated in a special meeting held in Sanaa to review and discuss a report on the large boat that was lost in the Red Sea," the report said, citing informed sources.
For years, Iran has been accused of supplying the Houthis with weapons and expertise for developing long-range missiles and drones. The shipments, often disguised as commercial vessels, have sometimes been intercepted by the US Navy and other international forces.
Security sources in Yemen revealed to Al-Ain that the Houthi militias lost contact with the large transport boat that was on a smuggling mission via a regular sea route from the Horn of Africa countries to the coasts of the governorate overlooking the Red Sea.
The news outlet said Yemeni security sources confirmed the ship was expected to arrive in Yemen on Friday but disappeared on Saturday. The Houthis, lacking a robust navy, have mobilized small boats and drones for the search, but their fishing boats lack the necessary technology for such operations. No distress calls have been detected.
Speculation is rife that the ship may have been targeted by the US-backed Prosperity Guardian mission, aimed at protecting Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks amid the blockade launched by the terror group since November.
Claiming to be in solidarity with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza, amid its war with Israel, the Houthis began a maritime blockade of the critical Red Sea corridor, targeting commercial shipping.
The Houthis fear the vessel could have been intercepted by US or European navies, given the intensified crackdown on Iranian arms shipments.
In a related development, US Central Command announced on Sunday that its forces had destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi drones and one kamikaze boat in the Red Sea.
The Houthis started targeting maritime commercial traffic in mid-November following a call by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for Muslim countries to blockade Israel. Initially focused on the Red Sea, the attacks have now extended to other critical waterways, including the Indian Ocean, with international shipping affected and dozens of seamen taken hostage.
A US-led coalition of over 20 nations has formed to combat the threat to global trade and freedom of movement.