Iran Update, June 16, 2024
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported two explosions near a vessel approximately 40 nautical miles south of al Mokha, Yemen, on June 16.[22] The explosions did not cause any injuries or damage to the nearby vessel, and the vessel continued to its next port of call.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) published an update about the Palauan-flagged, Ukranian-owned, Polish-operated commercial vessel Verbena on June 15.[23] The Houthis struck the Verbena in the Gulf of Aden on June 13 with two anti-ship cruise missiles, causing fires onboard.[24] CENTCOM reported that the Verbena’s crew issued a distress call and abandoned ship on June 15 due to “continuous fires and an inability to control them.”[25] The Cayman Islands-flagged commercial vessel Anna Meta responded to the distress call and rescued the crew. CENTCOM noted that the Iranian Artesh Navy frigate Jamaran was eight nautical miles from the Verbena but did not respond to the distress call. UKMTO reported on June 15 that the crew of an unspecified vessel abandoned their vessel after the Houthis attacked it, likely referencing the Verbena.[26]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-16-2024
Iran International English @IranIntl_En
Iran’s Interim President Mohammad Mokhber on Monday visited Hamid Nouri, the former Iranian jailor who faced life imprisonment in Sweden for his role in Iran’s 1988 mass executions but was released and swapped with two Swedes jailed in Iran.
https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/1802682644183806066
The Houthis conducted four attacks that caused physical damage to commercial vessels between June 9 and June 13, possibly indicating an increase in the effectiveness of Houthi attacks. A British maritime security firm said on June 14 that recent Houthi attacks on commercial vessels demonstrated a “significant increase in effectiveness” in Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.[11] CTP-ISW has observed that Houthi attacks have struck commercial vessels at a rate of about 0.4 impacts per week since the beginning of the Houthi attack campaign in November 2023. Separate Houthi attacks on two ships on June 9 caused fires aboard both vessels.[12] The Houthis then launched a remote-controlled, one-way attack naval surface drone targeting the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned Tutor on June 12.[13] A British maritime security firm said that one crewmember died in the attack, marking the second crew fatality in the Houthi attack campaign.[14] The Houthis struck the Palauan-flagged, Ukranian-owned, Polish-operated M/V Verbena with ballistic missiles on June 13, causing the vessel to catch fire and the crew to abandon ship.[15]
Western and Houthi officials told the Wall Street Journal on June 16 that the Houthis used routes through Djibouti and Lebanon to import Iranian weapons and equipment and Chinese-manufactured weapons parts.[16] Anonymous Western and Houthi officials said that Iranian arms arrive in Djibouti and that unspecified actors transfer the weapons to civilian ships. The Houthis use an established corridor between Djibouti and Houthi-controlled ports along the Yemeni Red Sea coast to smuggle “illicit cargo.”[17] The officials also noted that the Houthis are using Lebanon as a base through which to purchase spare drone parts from China.[18] The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen found in two 2023 Panel of Experts reports that the Houthis smuggled weapons that were manufactured or partially manufactured in China.[19]
A hardline Iranian cleric and parliamentarian claimed on June 17 that unspecified hardline presidential candidates have agreed to withdraw from the election if they perform poorly in upcoming presidential debates.[26] Iran will hold five televised debates beginning on June 17.[27] Reza Taghavi claimed that four unspecified “trusted institutions” will rate the hardline candidates based on their performance in the debates and that “some candidates” have agreed to withdraw in support of the candidate with the best performance.[28]
Taghavi’s claim follows repeated statements from hardline officials calling on the hardline camp to reach a “consensus” ahead of the June 28 election.[29] These calls are driven by concerns that the five hardline candidates risk splitting the vote and inadvertently advantaging the sole reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-17-2024