US Vessel Under Fire As Iran-Backed Houthis Step Up Red Sea Aggression

The US military announced that the Carrier Strike Group Eisenhower (IKECSG) completed a transit of the Strait of Hormuz to enter the waters of the Persian Gulf to support US Central Command missions.

Following the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas and the start of the Gaza war, the US first deployed two strike groups to eastern Mediterranean in what appeared as a deterrence against the Lebanese Hezbollah. The Shiite militant group is believed to possess tens of thousands of missiles and rockets that could bring destruction to Israel. The Hezbollah has since engaged in limited border skirmishes but has avoided a full-scale war with Israel.

Iran’s regime has also chosen not to directly get involved in the Gaza war, although officials issue daily statements of support for Hamas.

The US said that the IKECSG are patrolling the Persian to ensure freedom of navigation in key international waterways while supporting CENTCOM requirements throughout the region.

Iranian officials periodically threaten to close off the Strait of Hormuz or inspect vessels. They have attacked and harassed dozens of commercial vessels in the region since 2019.

“The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and the USS Stethem and the French frigate Languedo,” the USCENTCOM said.

While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, speculations point to Iran-backed Houthis who have been behind several other maritime attacks in recent days.

Central Park, a small chemical tanker (19,998 metric tons), is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed.

Zodiac Maritime said in a statement Central Park, which is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid, was involved in a suspected piracy incident while crossing international waters, approximately 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. Phosphoric acid is mostly used for fertilisers.

"Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew onboard. The Turkish captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals," the statement added.

"US and coalition forces are in the vicinity and we are closely monitoring the situation," a US official said.

The Sunday attack followed a seizure of another Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen's Houthis in the southern Red Sea last week,when the militants seized a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea as it was sailing from Turkey to India. The hijacked ship was Galaxy Leader, registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar who goes by Rami. He is the founder of Ray Shipping Ltd., and is known as one of the richest men in Israel. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Sunday it was aware of a possible attack in southwest Aden and called on other vessels to exercise caution.

The US has blamed Iran for unclaimed attacks on several vessels in the region in the past few years. Tehran has denied involvement.

A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was also hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean this week, causing minor damage to the vessel but no injuries, a US defense official said on Saturday.

Additionally, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on X that it had intercepted and shot down several one-way attack drones launched by Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis on Thursday morning. The attack was repelled by the USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

The Sunday incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since Hamas declared war on Israel on October 7. Israel has been pounding the enclave to uproot the Islamist group, which has made the war exceedingly bloody hiding deep among the civilian population and underneath the coastal sliver’s non-military facilities. Houthis, which also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, vowed to target more Israeli vessels.

Iran supports Hamas but says it did not play any role in the Islamist militants' October 7 terror attack that triggered the current crisis. Iran also backs the Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that has deep ties with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction in Gaza that is also backed by Iran.

The spokesman for Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi military, Yahya Sarea, said last week that the group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag, according to the group's Telegram channel. The spokesman called on all countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of any such ships.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that “resistance groups allied to Iran are cleverly adjusting pressure" on Israel and its supporters. The ‘resistance' front or axis is the term coined by the Islamic Republic to describe its logistic, financial and intelligence support for the Syrian regime, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and dozens of militia groups in the region, several of which were created by Iran.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced on November 16 that the New Jersey-based Princeton University is the subject of an investigation over the role of its controversial academic Mousavian, a former Iranian regime ambassador to Germany.

The twelve Republican lawmakers wrote: “During Mousavian’s tenure at Princeton, one of its students, Xiyue Wang, was held hostage in Iran. Given Mousavian’s experience as a former high-ranking official with the government of Iran, did Princeton ask Mousavian to assist in any way for Xiyue Wang’s release? Did Mousavian offer to use his contacts to try to free Xiyue Wang?”

The congressional representatives requested that Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber answer their questions about Mousavian’s alleged failure to aid the Chinese-American scholar Wang.

Wang told Iran International that “Princeton did not use its leverage, Mousavian, to get me out and it is not using its leverage to get Elizabeth Tsurkov out.”

Tsurkov,a Russian-Israeli PhD student at Princeton University, was kidnapped by the pro-Iran regime militia Kata'ib Hezbollah in March, 2023 in Iraq.

“Based on my understanding that Mousavian did not help me I would guess he is not working to help Tsurkov, “added Wang, who was imprisoned in Iran between August, 2016 and December 2019.

He and his wife, Hua Qu, sued Princeton University in 2021. Wang and his wife claimed they suffered “severe personal injuries and other irreparable harm, with respect to Princeton’s “reckless, willful, wanton, and grossly negligent acts.”

Wang and Qu settled the lawsuit in September. The elements of the settlement have not been made public. The 45 page civil suit against Princeton, which includes 16 mentions of Mousavian, can be read here.

In his first interview with Iran International, the embattled Princeton academic Mousavian said about Wang’s accusations that “Such claims are because they do not understand Iran. It is true that I was the former spokesperson for Iran’s nuclear negotiation team and a friend of the then Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during my service at the Iranian foreign ministry. “

Mousavian added, “However, neither Rouhani as the then president, nor Zarif as the then foreign minister had no power, influence and authority to intervene in Wang’s case. In 2009, an Iranian court sentenced the brother of President Hassan Rouhani, Hossein Fereydoun, to five years in prison.”

Wang countered that “The problem is not really whether Zarif or Rouhani could help. The problem is Mousavian decided he was not going to do anything. Iranian intelligence first confiscated my passport. And 18 days later they arrested me. During this time , I asked Princeton to ask Mousavian to help. And Mousavian decided not to do anything. When you have a person with that level of connections in your institution, you would expect he would act.”

When Iran International first asked Mousavian about the two Princeton students who were kidnapped, the former ambassador said, “I don’t know the students, but I believe any kidnapping, assassination and terror by anyone, anywhere and for any reason is a clear violation of international rules and regulations.”

Wang’s lawsuit stated, “Since joining Princeton in 2009, Mr. Mousavian has written many articles and made many media appearances where he has advocated in favor of the United States allowing Iran to obtain nuclear capabilities. Mr. Mousavian is understood to be a strong and avid supporter of the current Iranian terrorist regime. Mr. Mousavian frequently published pro-regime articles throughout Mr. Wang’s imprisonment in Evin Prison.”

Wang said, “Princeton knew I was held as a hostage as a bargaining chip and yet they were allowing Mousavian to use Princeton to promote the Iranian regime’s interests in the US, Iran and around the world.”

He asked “Why is Mousavian allowed to use his Princeton byline to criticize the US while I am in jail? Princeton, at the level of the university, is in the forefront of the pro-Iran engagement policy. Princeton’s pro-Iran engagement is not working.” He cited the case of Tsurkov, noting “When you have a student get arrested again in the span of a few years that says something.”

Wang said he was “glad” the congressional committee is investigating Princeton and Mousavian, adding they are “asking Princeton some questions that it really needs to answer. Mousavian is representing the Iranian regime unofficially. This is not academic freedom but harboring an agent. Why is Princeton giving the Iranian regime a prestigious platform for the Iranian regime’s interests? Princeton needs to come clean.”

Numerous Iran International press queries to Princeton University went unanswered.

Matthew Mottes, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Municipal Water Authority, disclosed to KDKA-TV that the hacking group, identified as Cyber Av3ngers, successfully took control of the station, setting off an immediate alarm.

The station, located on the outskirts of Aliquippa, plays a crucial role in managing pressure for Raccoon and Potter Townships. Mottes sought to allay public fears by affirming that, as of now, there is no identified risk to the drinking water or water supply.

The compromised system operated on a Unitronics platform, with Mottes highlighting the ownership of certain software or components by Israel. Subsequent to the breach, the system has been deactivated, and the Pennsylvania State Police have been called in to conduct a thorough criminal investigation at the booster station.

CyberAv3ngers has claimed responsibility for a series of global cyber assaults including on Iran’s archenemy Israel. As of October 30, their X page detailed attacks on ten water treatment stations in Israel in the midst of the Gaza war.

In September, the group claimed involvement in an alleged cyberattack targeting Israel's railroad network, disclosing sensitive information about its electrical infrastructure.

However, the railway operator refuted the occurrence of any cyberattack. The hacktivist collective also took credit for disabling the website of Israel's largest oil refinery, BAZAN Group in July, accompanied by the release of purported screenshots depicting the company's internal systems.

The trial, described as “unprecedented” by Canadian outlet Global News, followed Ortis’ arrest in 2019 which “sent a shockwave through the Canadian security and intelligence community”.

Jurors declared Ortis guilty of three counts of violating the Security of Information Act and one count of attempting to do so.

Prosecutors argued that not only had Ortis passed information to international criminals and money launderers connected to Iran but was also in possession of classified files which could have only been of interest to foreign states and that he was on cusp of sharing them just before his arrest in 2019.

According to court documents, from at least 2014, the RCMP and multiple intelligence agencies of Canada's close allies were investigating money laundering activities conducted by various entities associated with Altaf Khanani, a Dubai-based money service businesses owner.

These included Salim Henareh and his companies Persepolis International and Rosco Trading, Muhammad Ashraf and his company Finmark Financial, and Farzam Mehdizadeh and his firm Aria Exchange who were all subjects of the investigation in Canada.

Mehdizadeh, who reportedly once owned the biggest Iranian exchange bureau in Canada, was arrested in 2016 and fled to Iran after being released on bail.

Ortis, 51, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and testified that he offered secret material to targets in a bid to get them to use an online encryption service set up by an allied intelligence agency to spy on adversaries.

The prosecuting team argued Ortis lacked authority to disclose classified material and that he was not doing so as part of a sanctioned undercover operation.

Prosecutor Judy Kliewer suggested the Crown would seek a prison sentence of 20 or more years.

Ortis was arrested in September 2019. A civilian with a PhD in international relations, he was at the time the director of the RCMP’s national intelligence co-ordination centre in Ottawa, with access to Canada’s Top-Secret Network (CTSN), a computer network used by the federal government to share classified information. CTSN held intelligence from Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The trail to his arrest began the previous year when the RCMP analyzed the contents of a laptop owned by Vincent Ramos, CEO of Phantom Secure Communications, who had been apprehended in the United States. His company provided criminal organizations with encrypted mobile phones.

The jury was told that RCMP investigators found emails to Ramos from Ortis offering classified information to in exchange for $20,000.

Moreover, federal prosecutor Judy Kliewer alleged Ortis was in the final stages of a plan to pass state secrets to a “foreign entity” as well.

CBC reports that before his arrest, Otis’ home had been raided secretly, and just on one laptop, investigators found 488 secret files. Some had their headers removed and turned into PDF documents, hence untraceable, and ready to be shared. They also found searches for Chinese and other diplomats and embassies.

"Given the nature of the documents … these are no longer organized crime directed documents. These are all documents that related to national security and would only be of interest to a foreign entity,” the prosecution argued.

Reacting to the conviction, Canadian daily Globe and Mail declared that the outcome of the trial suggests that the Canadian judicial system passed an “extraordinary test”.

According to Wesley Wark, “for Canada’s intelligence and law enforcement partners, who share national security concerns about transnational organized crime, money laundering and possible terrorism linkages (Iran lurked in the background of this case), the Ortis trial had Canada on trial”.

“Even with the successful outcome of the trial, that trust will remain fragile, while the RCMP works to improve its internal security,” writes Wark.

As for the Iranian media, the news does not seem to have been covered inside the country, with headlines still dominated by the war in Gaza. State run news agencies such as IRNA and Fars did report on Otis’ arrest in 2019, albeit without mentioning any links to Iran in the investigation.