by Verità&Affari editorial team
The attack by a drone on a cargo ship sailing off the western coast of India could mark a new escalation in the crisis that is blocking the Red Sea route and threatening transportation safety between East and Europe. Meanwhile, from Iran comes the threat to extend the threats to the safety of maritime traffic up to Strait of Gibraltar, so as to “close the Mediterranean”. All the while a coalition of over 20 countries which ranges from the USA to Bahrain and sees the participation of a series of European nations, which are deploying their warships in the area to guarantee traffic safety and access to the Red Sea and Suez.
The attack off India
The British Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) has reported an attack on a ship by a drone in the Arabian Sea, 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, a city in Northern India. A fire broke out on the ship but was put out. There were no casualties in the accident. It could be yet another attack by the pro-Iranian Shiite Houthi group, Iran’s ally in Yemen. If confirmed, the action reports an expansion of the scope of Yemeni rebel activities to other areas, in view of the deployment of a multinational naval force established by the United States to counter the threat to traffic along maritime routes.
The new threat from Iran
Meanwhile, a general of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, threatened “the closure of the Mediterranean Sea” in response to “crimes against the oppressed people of Gaza.” Quoted by the news agency Tasnim, the commander of the Pasdaran spoke of the “birth of new resistance powers and the closure of other waterways” to counter the United States and their allies. “They will have to expect soon the closure of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar“, Naqdi said, claiming to have “trapped” the Western powers “in Bab el-Mandab and the Red Sea”. Finally quoting the Iranian supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khameneithe deputy coordinator of the Pasdaran concluded: “Expect a storm.”
The USA: Iran’s role in the attacks is crucial
On Friday 22 December, American intelligence spoke explicitly about Iran’s role in the attacks on ships conducted by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and in the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. Second Adrienne Watsonspokesperson for the US National Security Council, Iran’s technical support, including through the supply of maritime traffic monitoring systems, has been “crucial” to make attacks possible of the Yemeni rebels. The attacks by the Houthi rebels began with the beginning of Israel’s offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7 massacre. Initially directed only against Israeli ships, from the end of November ships from other countries also began to be hit, forcing many companies to announce the abandonment of the Suez route.
Delays in traffic to and from Europe
Meanwhile, Italian and European ports are recording the first delays in the arrival of goods from the East as a consequence of the blockade of the Suez route and the need to reach Europe by circumnavigating Africa. The container ship Thalassa Avra of Evergreen – Chinese company, one of the large companies that has announced to give up the Suez route for safety reasons – started from Singapore and waiting to Spice at the beginning of January, it won’t arrive before next January 20th.