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US to act against Iranian ship facilitating terror strikes in Red Sea

August 15, 2018


Speedboats equipped with guns on board the ship “Saviz”.
Speedboats equipped with guns on board the ship “Saviz”.

Washington — The Trump administration is planning to take action against Iranian ship “Saviz” identified as the “mother ship” stationed in the Red Sea providing targeting information for Houthi anti-ship attacks, which have increased in recent months, including a late July attack by Iranian-backed rebels on a Saudi oil tanker.

Washington Free Beacon website quoted US officials and military experts familiar with the situation as saying that “Saviz” is believed to be masked as a cargo vessel but has been providing significant military and logistic aid to Yemen’s Houthi militias.

The ship was delisted from US sanctions by the Obama administration as part of its efforts to uphold the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, US officials confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon.

Upcoming Trump administration action against the Saviz and other Iranian vessels is part of a broader package of sanctions expected to start on Nov. 5, officials confirmed.

Sanctions will target Iran’s port operations, shipping and shipbuilding sectors, and other affiliates.

The Iranian ship “Saviz” has been anchored for more than a year in the Red Sea near the Straits of Bab Al-Mandeb in international waters, according to satellite photos.

According to Iranian news outlets, many of the weapons handed over by the Iranian regime to the Houthi militias were carried by speedboats from the same vessel. The boats were equipped with 23 mm ZU guns.

Saviz itself is equipped with a radar rarely seen on cargo ships, but used to steer the Houthi militias’ boats when attacking Saudi oil tankers.

US officials familiar with the Saviz’s actions in the Red Sea told the Free Beacon the Iranian vessel is barely attempting to obfuscate its military role in aiding Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“The Iranians aren’t even trying to disguise the military use of the ship,” said one US official. “You don’t need classified intelligence or satellite photos of the decks to know that merchant ships simply don’t act this way.”

US officials familiar with the movements of the ship “Saviz” in the Red Sea, told Washington Free Beacon, “It is certain that the Iranian ship provides logistical support for the Houthis in Yemen.”

US defense experts with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, or WINEP, also have cited the Saviz as providing potential support and logistics to Houthi rebels as they commit acts of terrorism in the region. — Agencies


August 15, 2018
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