Iran Update, December 21, 2023
Iranian Law Enforcement Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan visited Rask, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, on December 21 following recent anti-regime militant attacks in the province.[75] The Balochi Salafi-Jihadist group Jaish al Adl conducted a two-stage attack on a police station in Rask on December 15, killing 11 Law Enforcement Command (LEC) officers.[76] Likely Jaish al Adl fighters also conducted an improvised explosive device attack targeting an IRGC Special Forces Brigade near Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, on December 19.[77] Radan visited the police station that was attacked and thanked Sunni and Shia police officers for uniting to “defend the homeland.” Radan warned that Iran will take severe revenge against terrorists and claimed that Iran reserves the right to pursue terrorists “anywhere.” Radan additionally conducted an aerial visit of Iran’s southeastern borders and called on the Pakistani government to increase its border security efforts. Iranian military officials have previously pressured the Pakistani government to crack down on Jaish al Adl “safe havens and cells” in Pakistan.[78]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-december-21-2023
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The Wall Street Journal reported on December 22 that an Iranian spy ship is directing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.[75] This spy ship is likely the Behshad, which is an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp intelligence gathering ship operating off the Dahlak archipelago in the Red Sea.[76] The Journal reported that the Iranian spy ship provides the Houthis with real-time intelligence, which enables them to target ships that have gone silent to avoid detection. This reporting is consistent with previous Western media reporting and statements from US officials that the IRGC is involved in planning and executing the Houthis’ drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea.[77] The IRGC Quds Force might have used the Behshad, or its predecessor the Saviz, to provide explosive-laden drone boats to the Houthis in recent years.[78] The Saviz might have similarly been supporting Houthi attacks on commercial tankers in the Bab al Mandab Strait and facilitating the smuggling of personnel and materials into Yemen via small dhows prior to the Israeli limpet mine attack on the Saviz in April 2021. [79]
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https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-december-22-2023
US intelligence informed its allies in the Gulf that last week that Iran sent three commercial ships to the Red Sea. The first is a cargo carrier converted to carry out reconnaissance missions, the second is a support ship, and the third is a container ship. According to sources, these three ships carry out the mission of logistical support for the Houthis and provide them with the intelligence information they need about Israeli or American targets in the Red Sea.
This means there are four Iranian ships in the Red Sea, including the “Behshad” ship, which is used as a spy base and has been operating since 2021 off the Eritrean Dahlak Archipelago. It arrived there as a replacement for the Saviz, a ship that was used as a spy base and was damaged in an attack attributed to Israel.
The sources said that since the Houthis kidnapped the Galaxy Leader cargo ship on November 19, the Mossad and Shin Bet have raised questions with regional intelligence services about the role of Behshad in supporting the Houthis logistically and how the Houthis obtained intelligence information about the ownership of the targeted ship and selected it among dozens of cargo ships that pass off Yemen daily.
According to Sheba Intelligence sources, the Israelis shared information with Gulf security services, including their confirmation that Galaxy Leader had stopped its navigation indicators several hours before the Houthi attack and passed next to Behshad, which has advanced navigation devices. This same thing happened when the Houthis attacked on Sunday on three ships crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Though the navigation indicators of the ships were closed, the vessels received direct warning messages from the Houthis and were then attacked.
The source calculated that Iran's sending of the three ships to provide logistical support to the Houthis in the Red Sea came at the request of the group's representatives during a meeting last month with Iranian officials and leaders of the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran.
https://shebaintelligence.uk/intelligence-war-in-the-red-sea