Iran and its so-called “Axis of Resistance” are exploiting the Israel-Hamas war to demonstrate their capability to control a key maritime route and chokepoint in the Middle East. The Houthis have conducted almost daily drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Bab al Mandeb since December 9. The most recent attacks occurred on December 15, when the Houthis struck two vessels off the coast of Yemen.[1] The Houthi military spokesperson framed these attacks as part of their ongoing attack campaign targeting all commercial maritime traffic headed to or affiliated with Israel and vowed to continue these attacks.[2]
The Houthi attack campaign signals to the international community that the Axis of Resistance can imperil ships around the Bab al Mandeb in addition to the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has long worked to establish the military capabilities and posture necessary to disrupt traffic around these strategic chokepoints. US officials and Western media have reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is directly involved in planning and executing the attacks with the Houthis.[3] The IRGC similarly threatens international shipping around the Strait of Hormuz to impose pressure on foreign adversaries.[4] The IRGC, for instance, conducted an attack campaign around the Strait of Hormuz in 2019 that is similar to the one that the Houthis are now waging.[5]
These attacks are disrupting all traffic in the Red Sea, not just traffic bound for Israel. Several of the vessels that the Houthis have attacked were headed to destinations other than Israel, demonstrating the threat that the Houthis pose to global shipping more broadly.[6] Major international shipping companies, such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have responded to the Houthi attacks by pausing their operations through the Red Sea and routing ships instead around Africa.[7] Maersk alone accounts for roughly 17 percent of global shipping.[8] Other companies are reportedly scaling back their operations in the Red Sea as well.[9]
full report https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-december-15-2023
An Iraq-focused journalist said that Iraqi Security Forces arrested Kataib Hezbollah (KH) and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba fighters on December 14 in connection to the December 8 rocket attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad.[48] A senior Iraqi security official told the journalist that the militias ”crossed lines” and that the situation is ”serious.”[49] CTP-ISW previously reported that the ISF arrested militia members on December 14, but the Iraqi government did not specify to which militia the fighters belonged.[50] The Iraqi central government has previously arrested KH and KH-linked fighters. The Iraqi judicial system released the fighters on both occasions after armed Iranian-backed fighters stormed Baghdad's Green Zone. Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) raided a Kataib Hezbollah compound in June 2020, arresting 14 KH fighters.[51] Then-Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi’s government released the KH fighters after KH fighters—led by Iranian proxy and KH leader Abu Fadak al Muhammadawi—stormed the Green Zone.[52] Kadhimi’s government also arrested the commander of KH-affiliated Liwa al Tafuf in May 2021, but released the commander after 12 days.[53] The commander's arrest caused an armed standoff between PMF fighters and ISF units in the Green Zone.[54]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-december-16-2023