Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian discussed the Israel-Hamas war and security in the Red Sea in a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on January 9.[64] Abdollahian called for an end the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Abdollahian also implicitly blamed Israel for Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. Lavrov claimed that the United States is using the Houthi attacks as a pretext to expand its military presence in the Middle East. The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry's readout of the call did not include Abdollahian's statements regarding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.[65]
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-10-2024
The Artesh Navy seized the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged Saint Nikolas crude oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on January 11.[77] Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iranian Armed Forces General Staff-controlled media said that the seizure was a retaliation against the United States after the US Navy seized the same tanker and then offloaded the ship's Iranian crude oil in April and August 2023.[78] The Saint Nikolas was formerly known as the Suez Rajan. The United States seized the Suez Rajan in April 2023 and offloaded its oil in August 2023 to enforce US unilateral sanctions on Iranian oil exports.[79] Senior Iranian military officials vowed in July and September 2023 that Iran would retaliate against the United States after the US Navy seized and offloaded Iranian oil from the tanker in April and August 2023.[80] The Artesh and IRGC navies seized several commercial tankers in the Persian Gulf from April to July 2023 in response to the US seizure. These seizures caused a US military buildup in and around the Persian Gulf during the same period.[81] CTP assessed in August 2023 that the Iranian regime may seize additional commercial vessels in response to the US Navy's seizure of the Suez Rajan.[82]
An online shipping tracker organization reported that the IRGC spy ship Behshad has left the Red Sea and is en route to Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, Iran on January 11.[83] The Behshad is an IRGC intelligence gathering ship stationed off the Dahlak archipelago in the Red Sea.[84] The Wall Street Journal reported on December 22, 2023 that the Behshad provides the Houthis with real-time intelligence, which enables the Houthis to target ships that have gone silent to avoid detection.[85] Western media and officials also said that the IRGC is helping the Houthi forces plan and execute the movement's drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea.[86] The IRGC has likely used the Behshad and its predecessor, the Saviz, to provide new systems and intelligence to the Houthis to facilitate Houthi operations in the Red Sea prior to this round of escalation.[87] Iran and the IRGC have also hosted and trained Houthi military forces.[88]
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-11-2024