US says warship targeted with drones from Yemen; blames Iran for ship hit near India
USS Laboon shoots down UAVs after Japanese-owned chemical tanker is struck near Indian coast, amid ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the region
An American warship was targeted with four UAVs fired from Yemen, the US military said late Saturday night, as a Japanese-owned chemical tanker was hit by a suicide drone and another drone nearly missed a second vessel.
The Pentagon said the chemical tanker struck off the coast of India was targeted “by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran.”
No injuries were reported in any of the maritime incidents, which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea, which they say is a response to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the US Central Command said the USS Laboon “shot down four unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to” the frigate.
The ship was in the southern Red Sea as part of a US-led coalition meant to protect shipping lanes from attack by the Iran-backed rebels in the key Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The US statement said the Laboon also responded to distress calls after attacks on the M/V BLAAMANEN, a Norwegian-flagged and -owned tanker, which was nearly hit by an attack drone, and the M/V SAIBABA, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude tanker that did suffer a strike.
“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since October 17,” the statement said.
On December 23 two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen. No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles.
Between 3 and 8 p.m. (Sanaa time), the USS LABOON (DDG… pic.twitter.com/jcBisbXBaS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 24, 2023
In addition, CENTCOM said two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas at the shipping lanes, but no vessels were impacted.
The Japanese-owned Chem Pluto was targeted “by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran” off the coast of India around 10 a.m. local time, according to the Pentagon.
Maritime private security firm Ambrey said the drone attack struck the stern and caused a fire onboard that was later extinguished without any casualties among the crew. The firm said the vessel suffered some structural damage and some water was taken onboard.
The US military “remains in communication with the vessel as it continues toward a destination in India,” the Pentagon statement added.
The Pentagon statement said the Chem Pluto flew under a Liberian flag and was operated by a Dutch entity. Ambrey had earlier said it was “linked” to Israel and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India. The ostensible link was not made clear.
Like Washington, Jerusalem also believes Tehran was directly behind the attack, according to Hebrew media Saturday.
As the attack occurred 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of India, near Veraval, it was unlikely to have been carried out from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Channel 12 noted.
The Indian navy said it responded to a request for assistance shortly after the attack, dispatching an aircraft and a warship “to provide any assistance as required.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike.
On Friday, Washington said Iran has been “deeply involved” in the planning of attacks by Houthi rebels against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, intensifying its rhetoric against Tehran amid the growing crisis surrounding global shipping efforts.
“Iranian support throughout the Gaza crisis has enabled the Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in the Friday statement.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Saturday branded Iran “a thoroughly malign influence in the region and in the world” in an interview in which he also pledged stepped-up deterrence toward Tehran.
Cameron, who this week visited the region and discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Israel’s war in Gaza as well as the volatile situation in the Red Sea, accused Tehran of aiding various “proxies” there.
“We need to work with our allies to develop a really strong set of deterrent measures against Iran,” he added.
The Houthis have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said Friday. The group has declared itself part of an “axis of resistance” of Iran’s allies and proxies targeting Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza, which erupted after the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 massacre, when terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel, a majority of them civilians, and took some 240 hostages.
On Saturday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister dismissed the US accusation, saying the group was acting on its own.
“The resistance has its own tools… and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri told the Mehr news agency.
Iran, which has long backed the Yemeni rebels, has provided unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to the Houthis, including those used in recent strikes on commercial and military vessels and attempted attacks on Israel, according to the US assessment.
The US has established a naval coalition to protect the Red Sea global shipping lane. However, the Biden administration has not yet taken the step to reverse its decision to declassify the Houthis as a terror organization. US officials say Washington is still considering the move.
Multiple shipping companies have suspended their Red Sea routes following the attacks, leading to a decrease in traffic in the Suez Canal, at Israel’s Eilat Port and other ports in the region.
