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]
Full report
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
Iran and its so-called “Axis of Resistance” are signaling their capability and willingness to attack maritime targets beyond just the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. A one-way drone struck a commercial vessel off the coast of India, causing structural damage to the ship, on December 23.[1] The vessel is partially Israeli-owned.[2] Israeli media reported that Iran was responsible for the attack, which is consistent with the ongoing anti-shipping campaign that Iran and the Houthi movement have conducted around the Bab al Mandeb in recent weeks.[3] This attack follows the Islamic Resistance of Iraq—a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias—claiming on December 22 that it conducted an unspecified attack on a “vital target” in the Mediterranean Sea.[4] There is no evidence that the Islamic Resistance of Iraq conducted an attack into the Mediterranean Sea at the time of writing. The claim, nevertheless, signals the readiness of the Iraqi group to participate in the Iran-led attack campaign on maritime targets. Finally, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, threatened to expand the anti-shipping campaign to the Mediterranean Sea and Strait of Gibraltar on December 23.[5] Naghdi frequently makes inflammatory threats toward Iranian adversaries, but his statement is particularly noteworthy given the drone attack off the Indian coast and the claimed attack by the Islamic Resistance of Iraq. Iran and its Axis of Resistance are likely messaging their capability and willingness to widen geographically their anti-shipping attack campaign in response to the United States forming a multinational naval task force to safeguard commercial traffic around the Red Sea.
Iran has invested in building “drone carriers” to add to its naval forces in recent years, which will amplify the threat that the Axis of resistance poses to international shipping and other maritime targets. Iran has built several forward base ships and other offensive vessels, sometimes constructed from converted commercial tankers, to conduct expeditionary and out-of-area operations since 2021.[6] These Iranian vessels can carry drones as well as other platforms, such as fast attack craft, helicopters, and missiles, which facilitates Iranian force projection. These Iranian ships would not likely survive conventional engagements with the United States. They can, however, support attacks on commercial traffic similar to the recent Houthi attacks around the Bab al Mandeb.
Iranian assistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine will compound further the threat that Iranian drones pose. The war has incentivized Iran and Russia to expand their capacities to manufacture Iranian-designed, one-way attack drones. CTP-ISW previously reported on how Iran is helping to establish drone manufacturing facilities in Russia and Belarus.[7] These facilities will, in theory, allow Russian forces to more rapidly field Iranian-designed drones in Ukraine. The use of Iranian drones in Ukraine is furthermore providing Moscow and Tehran opportunities to test these platforms in a modern combat zone and learn lessons on how to use such platforms more effectively.
full report https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-december-23-2023
Iran's Artesh (army) released a video (with english dub) on the MV Behshad & Saviz, emphasizing their role as floating armouries, used as depots for supplying activities and strategic support to Iranian vessels & patrol regional waters for over a decade.
The video rejects claims of espionage, stating it's dedicated to countering piracy.
https://twitter.com/AryJeay/status/1754082059402805392
3 min video
More https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4099233/posts?page=606#606
Nice targets