White House says Tehran is ‘deeply involved’ in Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea: Iranian spy ship is accused of providing targeting data

Iran is “deeply involved” in planning attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and has provided intelligence to help Yemen's Houthi faction target ships, the White House said Friday.

“We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” White House national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

“This is consistent with Iran's long-term material support and encouragement of the Houthis' destabilizing actions in the region,” she added. 'This is an international challenge that requires collective action.'

A surveillance ship in the Red Sea controlled by Iran's paramilitary forces is passing targeting information to the Houthis, a report said Wall Street Journal report on Friday citing Western and regional security officials.

The report does not name the suspected spy ship, but DailyMail.com understands it is the Behshad, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that has been anchored in the middle of the Red Sea since July 2021.

The location of the suspected Iranian spy ship Behshad can be seen above. The alleged cargo ship has been anchored in the Red Sea since 2021, when it replaced another damaged spy ship

The Houthis have stepped up their attacks on commercial ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in recent days in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza.

The attacks, targeting a key trade route, especially for oil, have prompted some shipping companies to divert ships or interrupt shipping through the Suez Canal, with potentially widespread consequences for global trade.

For their part, the Houthis scoffed at the suggestion that their attacks were aided by Iranian intelligence.

“It's strange to attribute everything to Iran as if it were the strongest power in the world,” a spokesperson for the group told the Journal.

“We have intelligence facilities that have proven themselves through the years of aggression against us.”

Tehran has also denied helping the Yemeni rebel group launch their attacks.

The suspected Iranian spy ship Behshad has been in the Red Sea since 2021, hanging around Eritrea's Dahlak Archipelago.

It arrived there after Iran removed the Saviz, another suspected spy base in the Red Sea that suffered damage in a mine attack that analysts attributed to Israel, which did not publicly acknowledge the attack.

Like the Savis, the Behshad is regularly supplied by passing Iranian ships. The ship remained anchored in the Red Sea on Thursday, according to tracking data from MaritimeTraffic.com.

The Behshad may have played a role in the dramatic hijacking of the Israeli-linked cargo ship Galaxy Leader last month, after the ship passed near where the suspected spy ship was anchored shortly before it was attacked by militants from helicopters.

Suspected Iranian spy ship Behshad (above) has been in the Red Sea since 2021, loitering near Eritrea's Dahlak Archipelago

Houthi supporters shout slogans during a protest Friday in Sana'a, Yemen, against the recently announced operation to secure trade and protect ships in the Red Sea

Tracking data shows commercial ships in the Red Sea on Friday

The US last week announced a naval coalition involving 20 countries aimed at helping protect ships from attacks in the Red Sea.

Some of the countries involved have said that operations to protect commercial traffic will be part of existing naval agreements.

Meanwhile, more and more commercial ships are avoiding the Red Sea, instead taking a long detour around Africa for fear of being attacked.

At least two ships carrying oil or oil products between the US Gulf Coast and India turned away from the Red Sea on Friday, according to ship tracking data.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians besieged by Israel in the Gaza Strip, have attacked commercial shipping with drones and missiles, forcing shippers to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa .

The Aigeorgis, chartered by BP to transport vacuum gas oil (VGO) from Jamnagar, India, to Texas, was heading along Africa's east coast towards the Cape of Good Hope on Friday, according to tracking data from financial firm LSEG.

BP's VGO shipments from Jamnagar historically passed through the Red Sea. The new route adds nine days to the journey between India and the US Gulf Coast. VGO is a refinery feedstock used for the production of gasoline and diesel.

“War risk premiums for tankers traveling via the Red Sea have risen recently, so the longer route (Cape of Good Hope) could become a slightly less bitter pill for charterers,” said Jay Maroo, an analyst at energy data firm Vortexa.