Several Russian warships enter the Red Sea: Navy

PROVINCE, CHINA: Several Russian warships have passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, the Russian navy’s Pacific Fleet said, amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on merchant shipping.

The Zvezda TV channel, owned by the defense ministry, quoted the fleet as saying the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov were taking part in the voyage.

Earlier, Iran, the main supplier of weapons to Yemen’s Houthis, has provided intelligence on maritime ships transiting through the Red Sea, a senior US military official said.

Washington has been conducting routine operations against Houthi capabilities since the group first attacked US ships last December, another official told Al Arabiya English aboard the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

The Iranian ship named the MV Behshad is in the Gulf of Aden, according to Rear Adm. Marc Miguez.

“We assess that that ship… has provided some sort of intelligence information on maritime ships,” said Miguez, who is the commander of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.

Asked if and when the Iranian ship would become a legitimate US target, Miguez said: “I won’t go into specifics on that.” Reports have suggested that the US has carried out cyber-attacks against Iranian targets, but officials have not publicly claimed a reported February cyberattack on the Behshad.