Saudi Arabia has suspended its oil tanker transits through the Red Sea after one of them reportedly was hit by Houthi fire. According to some reports the damaged tanker, which did not leak oil, was being taken to a nearby Saudi port for repairs. Kuwait is also likely to suspend oil-tanker transits through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The Houthis are fighting Saudi-led coalition forces for control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeida. Hodeida, which is near the Bab-el-Mandeb, is a strategic city for Yemen. More than 70% of its imported supplies, including famine relief and medical aid, flow through the port. For the Saudis and their allies, controlling the port is important in order to stop the Yemeni rebels from affecting the movement of tankers as they carry Persian Gulf oil though the Red Sea and the Suez Canal over to Europe and United States’ east-coast refineries. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is only 29 kilometers wide.
The Houthis say that the Saudi claim that oil tankers were attacked is a deliberate provocation and while they did launch an attack it was against Saudi warships off the coast of Hodeida. Houthi leaders claim their forces sank a Saudi warship, identified as a French-built Lafayette-class frigate called Al-Damman.
The Houthis are sensitive that any attack on an oil tanker would be a provocation that would undermine Iran as much as Saudi Arabia, and Iran is their principal sponsor, providing most of their military arms. The conflict between Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition (which basically means Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) in its essence is a fight over whether Yemen will be controlled by Sunni or Shiite forces.
Lafayette-class frigates operate with different naval forces including those of France, Singapore and Taiwan.
Al-Damman (Hull 816) is one of three modern, heavily armed frigates operated by the Royal Saudi Navy. The other two are named Al-Riyadh (Hull 812) and Al-Makkah (Hull 814). All three of these frigates (Al-Dammam was delivered in 2004) have stealth characteristics including low-power diesel engines and a special heat-dissipation system. The ships’ engines sit on sound-absorbing mounts, and the ship itself is partially demagnetized to protect it from magnetic mines.
In the narrow Bab el-Mandeb, the stealth features might prove less useful, since the ships would be visible from the shore and could be targeted with line-of-sight weapons. Alternatively, Al-Damman could have been hit by Houthi drones carrying high explosives. Whether a single drone, or for that matter a single missile, would be able to destroy the Damman is an open question.
The Houthis successfully shot up the HSV-2 Swift, a large catamaran about half the tonnage of Al-Damman. In October 2016 the Swift, operated under contract out of the UAE and involved in transporting supplies and troops in an early attack on Hodeida, was significantly damaged with a loss of life in the crew and passengers (many of the crew members were from Eastern Europe).
The ship burned out of control. It did not sink, possibly its twin hulls kept it from submerging, and it was subsequently towed to Eritrea and has not returned to service. The ship was hit by Chinese-made or license-built (by Iran) anti-shipping missiles that were either fired from the shore or from small boats, the same sort of weapons that are used by the Iranians on their small but fast patrol boats that until recently had been harassing US warships in the Persian Gulf.
In February 2017 a Saudi al-Madinah-class frigate was attacked by the Houthis using what has been called a suicide boat stuffed with explosives. Two crew members of the frigate were killed and the explosion caused a large fire on the ship. Reportedly the ship was able to continue operating after the attack. The Houthis said the frigate was sunk, a claim that turned out to be an exaggeration.
The Houthis also have drones, including a suicide drone, the Qasef-1 (Striker), which the Houthis claim to manufacture. The Qasef-1 carries 30 kilograms of high explosives and is a version of the Iranian Abibil-3 drone. Most analysts say that the Qasef-1 is manufactured in Iran and is stuffed with the same equipment as the known Iranian versions.
The Iranians have used the Abibil-3 (Swallow) in Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon, and have supplied them to Hezbollah and to Hamas in Gaza. The drone itself is a hodgepodge of parts, some of them American, some Asian. The engine is a two-cylinder DLE-222 made in China but widely available worldwide, even from eBay (price US$1,649.99 with free shipping).
The bigger question is who should be believed? If a Saudi oil tanker was hit by a missile then it could be seriously damaged. If it was hit by a drone, less so but it still could cause serious damage. If the oil-tanker story is bogus and the Saudis either had an important warship damaged or sunk, the consequences would be much more serious. Without independent confirmation the answer remains unknown.
What we do know, beyond any doubt, is that the Saudi coalition effort to get control over Hodeida remains a big challenge and even if they do, they would have to hold the area which could prove very costly. Meanwhile the Houthis and their Iranian backers are causing Saudi Arabia, the UAE and even the United States serious difficulty, with consequences not only in the Gulf region but beyond. At the same time the humanitarian crisis in Yemen continues, much to the shame of everyone involved.
Saudi Arabia is a shithole——–and what goes around comes around——–the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is the fault of one country———the evil Saudi Arabia and there sick Wahabi ideology.
Someone should tell this idiot and Zionist advocate that to look at map of rhe Persian Gulf region and tell me how Iran can supply anything to Houthis when there is an Air and Sea blockade of Yemen by US, Saudis, UAE and their buddy Israel.
The facts don`t mean anything. The US wants war with Iran so any lie any pretext or false flag will do. Forget about truth, the US abandoned that in 1776.
Thomas Daniel Kuhn, Your views are correct since Trump is tempted "actually pushed hard" by the Israelis, Saudis and UAE to attack Iran and pretexts could be manufactured with ease. The question remains; despite USA capacity to bomb Iranian infrastructure or military targets, it cannot pacify Iran with any means short of nuclear attack, so Iran’s reaction comes next. Iran could unleash hell on the rotten Persian Gulf monarchies, and inflict great damage on US naval assets and could sink Aircraft carriers and scores of large US cruisers and destroyers, so what’s next? Nuke them or accept defeat . . !
In 2002 the Pentagon had a real war game to test US navy’s chances against Iran. The RED-TEAM “Iran” defeated two battle groups, sank their ships and the BLU-TEAM “USA” lost over 20 thousand men in 48 hours. The war-game was conducted in realistic condition and the total cost of that war-game surpassed 500 Million US$. Imagine, that was 17 years ago during which Iran’s naval assets, anti-ship missiles and their effectiveness was nowhere near current Iranian capabilities.
War-plans are easy to conceptualize but no plan works as intended if the adversary has better counter plans and greater will to fight at any cost.
If Trump heeds to Israel/Saudi wishes, then the Vietnam disaster would look like a Disneyland vacation compare to what Iran could do in an all-out war against USA and its proxies. Iran went thru 8 years of war against Iraq which at the time had the backing of USA, USSR, Europe and the Arab regimes “Syria & Libya excluded” without bending over. Moreover, Iraq used banned chemical weapons in a large scale against Iran’s armed forces just to survive. Someone should teach that Porky Pig look alike few lessons in history and war making.
Indeed, you are right. Saudi regime financed Saddam’s 8-year war against Iran, and then financed 12 years of US selective bombings of Iraq, then came desert storm and the final destruction of Iraq in operation “IRAQI FREEDOM” in 2003-2012.
They done the same in Syria spending tens of Billions arming ISIL and their allies to destroy Syria and financed the military coup against an elected government in Egypt. They conspired with Israel to attack Lebanon in 2006 but as usual they lost their bid. For the past several years they have been bombing poor Yemeni people for their refusal to accept a Saudi puppet as their viceroy.
As if that’s not enough bloodshed, now they’re obsessed with Iran along with Cry-wolf Netanyahu and UAE. They’re spending hundreds of Billions in bribery to USA, as well as colossal purchases of hi-tech weapons which they cannot use “they hire mercenaries”, all to destroy Iran’s infrastructure due to their inferiority complex against the Iranians.
I guess every dog has a day, and Saudis are nearing their day.
Absolutely right, he’s an ardent Zionist. Stephen Bryen and his wife Shoshana Bryen are both dual nationality Israeli parasites that thrive on US gravy wagon. Its puzzling that all Israeli “ZIONIST” douc bags by some divine miracle become Security/Military/Strategic/Foreign Policy experts in this afflicted nation we call USA . . . !
The funny part; how a person could become an expert on any nation without intimate knowledge about that nation thru serious academic studies and real-life interaction. How about speaking their language, for example? Not necessary if an Ashkenazi/Israeli since that by itself qualify any retard to be an expert on Iran, Iraq or Turkey.
It sounds like Americans are completely brain-dead-cattle to be led by those snake oil experts, as if America lacks any intellectual or critical thinking folks to chair the thousands of US security establishment positions which seem like virtual monopoly for the Ashkenazis.
No wonder, any normal US/Iran relation becomes impossible while those hordes of swindlers lead, and brain wash our lowly politicians to legislate whatever’s good for Israel since that’s where their loyalty belongs.
This pair Stephen and Shoshana are members of Gatestone Institute a wholly owned and operated Israeli propaganda shop. Shoshana was a Senior Director for Security Policy at The Jewish Institute for National Security of America in Washington, D.C.- a well known Israel think-tank.
Trump is waiting for the right excuse.The saudis will provide it.Simple
Left or Right, Mohammedan or rational person, male, female or hairstylist.
One thing we all agree on… KSA and their leaders deserve to be in the center of Dante’s Hell.
Well said, of course blockades and borders will always be leaky (like Comrade Chrome Dome’s bladder).
But Iran supplying the Houthis ? It’s all part of KSA (and Israel) attempt to get the Yanks to neutralise Iran.
TRUMP EVIDENTLY FORGOT THAT HIS SAUDIS PALS ARE FROM A SHITHOLE NATION JUST AS THE ONES HE BLATHERED ABOUT IN HIS ANTI IMMIGRANT TIRADE.
I hope you are wrong, but I worry you might be right.
Ivor Large Exactly like I also hope myself prove wrong.Add another dimension.the other villan Netinyahu,more dangerous than Saudis, has laready jumped into the fray.We can only hope