In December 2023, the United States of America accused Iran of being heavily involved in the planning of attacks that were carried out by Houthi rebels from Yemen against commercial ships in the Red Sea. They went on to say that Iran’s support for the rebels was “substantial,” suggesting that it included the delivery of military supplies and assistance in intelligence gathering and training.
Since then, tensions have increased, and on December 31, a helicopter belonging to the United States Navy called the MH-60R Seahawk was used to kill three boats that the Houthis ran. These boats were attempting to approach the Maersk Hangzhou container ship that was located near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. To counteract this, the United States government established the naval alliance known as the Operation Prosperity Guardian to safeguard commercial marine trade in the Red Sea.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and the Chief of the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office, David Cameron, had a conversation in which they emphasised Iran’s role in avoiding attacks of this nature due to Iran’s long-standing support for the Houthis. This information was communicated through the social media website X.
Taking this into consideration, the Iranian news agency Tasnim said on January 1 that Tehran has deployed the “destroyer” IRIS Alborz in the Red Sea. The story stated that the Iranian Navy had been operating in the region since 2009 to safeguard navigation channels and combat piracy.
The IRIS Alborz is a British-made, lightweight frigate that has been in service since 1971. It is a member of the 94th fleet of the Iranian Navy and weighs 1540 tonnes. The vessel is equipped with eight Noor anti-ship missiles, a turret measuring 114 millimetres, a Kamand close-in weapon system measuring 30 millimetres, three guns, two 81-millimetre mortars, two 12.7 millimetre machine guns, and two torpedo tubes.
The presence of IRIS Alborz in the Red Sea will probably further complicate the situation. This is especially true when considering the likelihood that Iran will deploy one of its three Kilo-class submarines – IRIS Taregh, IRIS Nooh, and IRIS Yunès, as they have previously done.
