Israel Warns Iran-Backed Hezbollah Over Cross-Border Escalation

Sailors assigned to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group airlifted the crew out on Saturday, NAVCENT said, adding that one civilian sailor remained missing.

The attack, which occurred near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left the Tutor unable to maneuver.

On Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship's crew was evacuated and that the abandoned vessel was drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the small sea craft and missile attacks it used to target the ship as part of their ongoing campaign which they say is in support of the Palestinians and is focused on ships bound for Israel.

Iran supplies weapons to and supports Houthi forces in Yemen, which have been attacking international commercial vessels since November, disrupting a vital maritime route linking Asia with Europe.

The attacks began after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations in early November to blockade Israeli trade.

Missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militants struck the Verbena in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, sparking a fire and severely injuring one of its crew, U.S. Central Command said.

The Iran-allied Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November for what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The attacks began after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Muslim nations to blockade Israel's trade routes. The United States and Britain have launched air strikes against Houthi military targets since January, but the militant group receiving arms and support from Iran has continued its campaign.

The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea region has disrupted global shipping, cascading delays and costs through supply chains. The militants have sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three seafarers in separate attacks.

“I don’t think people really understand just kind of how deadly serious it is what we’re doing and how under threat the ships continue to be,” Cmdr. Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon told the AP on a visit to his warship on the Red Sea.

“We only have to get it wrong once,” he said. “The Houthis just have to get one through.”

Capt. David Wroe, the commodore overseeing the guided missile destroyers, says “it is every single day, every single watch, and some of our ships have been out here for seven-plus months doing that."

The US Navy prepared for decades to potentially fight the Soviet Union, then later Russia and China, on the world’s waterways. However, instead of a global power, it finds itself locked in combat with a shadowy, Iran-backed rebel group based in Yemen, the AP's report said.

The Houthis, an Iranian proxy group, began targeting maritime commercial traffic in mid-November following a call by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for Muslim countries to blockade Israel. Initially confined to the Red Sea, these attacks have since extended to other crucial waterways, including the Indian Ocean.

The United States and Britain have bombed Houthi military installations several times since January, but the Iran-backed group has accelerated attacks in the past two weeks, as Israel continues operations in Gaza and attacks Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The Houthi campaign has disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. It has also stoked fears that the Gaza war - in which the local health ministry says over 37,000 have been killed - could spread and destabilize the wider Middle East.

Iran and Russia have grown closer due to the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in sweeping sanctions on Russia from the US and the EU. Iran has supplied Russia with hundreds of kamikaze drones, and unofficial reports suggest that Tehran may be considering enhancing its assistance with missiles.

"We call on Iran to stop assisting Russia’s war in Ukraine and not to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology, as this would represent a substantive material escalation and a direct threat to European security," the G7 stated.

In February, Reuters reported that Iran had provided Russia with “a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles”. The claim was later repeated by UK defense secretary Grant Shapps, who indicated that he had such information but refused to offer details..

Iran and Russia have been working on a long-term agreement for a few years now, hoping to set in stone a trend that has seen Tehran and Moscow expand and deepen ties.

The new comprehensive cooperation agreement was conceived under former President Hassan Rouhani and officially announced by his late successor, Ebrahim Raisi. “Documents of strategic cooperation can outline the horizons of the [two countries’] relations over 20 years,” Raisi said after he met Putin and presented the draft in 2022.

The agreement was expected to be signed this year, but the Russian side announced Wednesday that the process was halted due to “issues faced by our Iranian partners.” Russia's TASS news agency then quoted foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that several "procedural legislative actions" must be completed before the agreement can be signed.

It is unclear what the “actions” are and if it is related to the unexpected, upcoming presidential elections in Iran, which were announced after Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

Earlier on Friday, it was announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, had talked on the phone Thursday evening, in what seems to be the latest attempt to counter rumors surrounding the ‘halt’ of the two countries’ comprehensive agreement.

“Both sides expressed their interest in further development of Russian-Iranian cooperation,” according to the Kremlin, “including in implementing promising joint projects in energy and transport.”

Reza Talebi, Iran International's political correspondent, believes the ‘halt could be a strategic move by Putin to exert more pressure on an isolated Iran.

"It's a message from Vladimir Putin to Tehran, warning them not to alter their policies, particularly concerning Ukraine and the Gaza conflict. Additionally, it aims to pressure the incoming Iranian government into negotiations to secure more favorable terms," he stated.

Under severe international sanctions, Russia and Iran have expanded their economic ties, with mutual trade standing at $4 billion, which even Iranian officials admit is far below the target of $40 billion.

The two countries reached an agreement in December to eliminate the use of the US dollar in bilateral trade, a development heralded by Iran's central bank governor as a "new chapter." However, the move has more of a symbolic significance than a real economic act.

"We urge Tehran to cease and reverse nuclear escalations, and stop the continuing uranium enrichment activities that have no credible civilian justifications," according to a draft communique.

Iran has rapidly installed extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its Fordow site and begun setting up others, a UN nuclear watchdog report said on Thursday.

Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, and has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for three nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.

"Iran must engage in serious dialogue and provide convincing assurances that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, in full cooperation and compliance with the IAEA’s monitoring and verification mechanism, including the Board of Governors’ resolution of 5 June," the G7 said.

Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

The leaders also warned Iran about concluding a deal to send ballistic missiles to Russia that would help it in its war against Ukraine, saying they were prepared to respond with significant measures if it were to happen.

"We call on Iran to stop assisting Russia’s war in Ukraine and not to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology, as this would represent a substantive material escalation and a direct threat to European security," they said.