Iranian Warship Arrives in Red Sea

Facts

• Iranian state media has announced that Iran has deployed its naval warship Alborz to the Red Sea region amid heightened regional tensions both in the strategic waterway and in Gaza.¹
• Iranian warships reportedly have operated in open waters since 2009 on maritime security missions regarding trade, piracy, and other operations. The Red Sea-deployed Alborz has previously operated in the Gulf of Aden, the north region of the Indian Ocean, and the Strait of Bab Al-Mandab since 2015 per Iranian state media.²
• The deployment of the Iranian frigate to the Red Sea comes after US Navy helicopters from the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier on Sunday successfully prevented a Houthi rebel attempt to capture a cargo ship off the Yemeni coast. 10 of their fighters were killed or went missing, the Houthis said.³
• According to the US Central Command, the Houthi attackers attempted to board the container vessel Maersk Hangzhou, which was flying the Singaporean flag. In response, the Danish shipping company announced that it would suspend all operations in the Red Sea for 48 hours.⁴
• Yemen's Houthi militia began targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea over the Gaza conflict. In December, the US formed a multinational naval task force in the Red Sea to provide security within the waterway.⁵
• Following the news of the Iranian warship's deployment, oil prices increased by more than 2% on Tuesday. In early December, crude oil climbed temporarily when major shipping companies halted operations in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Daily Mail, ³Archive, ⁴Dw.Com, ⁵Arab News PK and ⁶Yahoo Finance.

Narratives

• Anti-Iran narrative, as provided by BNN Breaking. The presence of an Iranian warship in the Red Sea has sparked fears that the Gaza conflict could escalate into a larger international crisis.  Many interpret Tehran's move as an attempt to project influence and force the United States to pull back on its regional influence. The task facing the international powers is to try to defuse an already volatile situation while working to guarantee the security of the vital maritime route, which is essential to worldwide commerce.
• Pro-Iran narrative, as provided by English. Tehran is trying to maintain its power in the area by supporting the Houthis and moving a warship to the Red Sea, where it hopes to gain control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. It seems unlikely that the move would lead to further escalation between the US and Iran, as Tehran has no interest in a direct conflict with the US in the Red Sea. Rather, Iran will utilize the crisis to demonstrate to the rest of the world that it is a constructive and major regional power — especially given the current conflict in Gaza.

Predictions