DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels likely fired an Iranian-made anti-ship cruise missile at a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea in December, an assault that now provides a public evidence-based link between the ongoing rebel campaign against shipping and Tehran, the U.S. military says.
A report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released Wednesday linked the attack on the Strinda, which set the vessel ablaze, to Tehran, the Houthi’s main backer in Yemen’s nearly decadelong war. The findings correspond with those of a Norway-based insurers group that also examined debris found on the Strinda.
It comes as the Houthis continue their monthslong campaign of attacks over the Israel-Hamas war, targeting ships in the Red Sea corridor, disrupting the $1 trillion flow of goods passing through it annually while also sparking the most intense combat the U.S. Navy has seen since World War II.
Iran‘s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Strinda was coming from Malaysia and was bound for the Suez Canal and then on to Italy with a cargo of palm oil when it was struck by a missile Dec. 11. The attack sparked a major fire on board that the crew later extinguished without anyone being hurt.
Debris found on board later was analyzed by the U.S. military. The DIA compared the pieces of the engine from the missile found on board to the Iranian Noor anti-ship ballistic cruise…
