Iran’s military and security leaders have been “increasingly discussing” the need to expand their presence around the Red Sea, a leading US thinktank has said.
In its latest update on the situation in the Middle East, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Iran would probably use an expanding military presence to threaten commercial traffic.
It has been supporting Houthi attacks on global commerce in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for months.
It comes after a senior military adviser to the Iranian supreme leader Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy and Aerospace Force should “focus” on the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea earlier this week.
“Iran has invested in recent years in building surface vessels that are capable of hosting fast attack craft, drones, helicopters, and missiles,” the ISW said.
“These vessels would not likely survive conventional engagements against the US Navy or other modern militaries—but they are optimized for the sort of commerce raiding that has long been a feature of Iranian regional strategy.”
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