{"id":116334,"date":"2024-02-08T08:26:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=116334"},"modified":"2024-02-08T08:26:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:26:04","slug":"us-intelligence-warns-of-growing-iranian-houthi-weapons-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2024\/02\/08\/us-intelligence-warns-of-growing-iranian-houthi-weapons-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"US Intelligence Warns of Growing Iranian-Houthi Weapons Cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"VOA \u2014 WASHINGTON \u2014 <\/span>The United States is offering fresh evidence that Houthi attacks on international shipping are being carried out with weaponry designed by Iran, though some analysts and experts warn the findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of the U.S. actions against the Houthis and what it portends of Iran\u2019s weapons development program.<\/p>\n

The Defense Intelligence Agency late Tuesday issued an unclassified report with details on the drones and missiles the Houthis have used in their more than 40 attacks since mid-November. The report also sheds light on missiles that the Houthis have in their arsenal but have yet to unleash.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalysis confirms that Houthi forces have employed various Iranian-origin missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against military and civilian targets throughout the region,\u201d the DIA said in a statement, pointing to an ever-tighter relationship between Tehran and Houthi leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2014, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force [IRGC-QF] has provided the Houthis a growing arsenal of sophisticated weapons and training,\u201d DIA said. \u201cIran\u2019s aid has enabled the Houthis to conduct a campaign of missile and UAV attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings are based on current information, some gathered as recently as last month, and on a “comparative analysis of publicly available images of Iranian missiles and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] to those displayed and employed by Houthi forces,\u201d the agency added.<\/p>\n

Iran has consistently denied providing the Houthis with sophisticated weaponry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have their own weapons,\u201d said Iran\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been eight years under the war. They have a lot of experiences,\u201d he told NBC News in an interview that aired late Tuesday.<\/p>\n

But the DIA\u2019s findings show the Houthis are operating three types of drones, all versions of those used by Iran.<\/p>\n

They include the Sammad, a version of Iran\u2019s Sayad drone, which has a range of up to about 1,800 kilometers.<\/p>\n

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A Houthi follower holds a rocket launcher as others carry a cutout banner portraying the Galaxy Leader cargo ship that was seized by Houthis, during a parade as part of a “popular army” mobilization campaign, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 7, 2024.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Two other Houthi drones, known as the Waid-1 and the Waid-2, are versions of Iran\u2019s Shahed drones, with the Waid-2 boasting a range of up 2,500 kilometers, allowing it to potentially hit targets as far away as Israel, Egypt and Turkey.<\/p>\n

The DIA analysis further finds that the Waid-2\u2019s wing stabilizers are consistent not just with the size and shape of the those on Iran\u2019s Shahed-136, but also bear an uncanny similarity to debris from Russia’s Geran-2 attack drone, itself a variant of Tehran\u2019s Shahed.<\/p>\n

The analysis alleges the Houthis have also been using three ballistic missiles and one surface-to-air missile, all of Iranian design. They include the Houthi Quds-4, a version of Iran\u2019s Paveh ballistic missile, which has an estimated range of 2,000 kilometers and could potentially be used to strike as far away as Israel.<\/p>\n

The U.S. assesses the Houthis have four additional missiles that have not yet been used, including a version of Iran\u2019s Shahab-3, which also has an estimated range that puts Israel within the Houthis\u2019 sights.<\/p>\n

Some experts say that while the report\u2019s findings largely confirm previous intelligence assessments, they are worrying, nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DIA report underscores how the Houthis have been getting Iranian technology for over a decade and modifying it to build their own missiles and drones,\u201d according to Bruce Reidel, a former CIA officer now with the Brookings Institution in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Houthis\u2019 capabilities are not highly sophisticated and can be replaced easily with materials already in Yemen,\u201d Reidel told VOA via email, warning that has significant implications for international shipping.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone has resumed sailing in the Red Sea despite the American and British bombardment of the Houthis,\u201d he said. \u201cThey know the bombing is not going to cripple the Houthis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Carter, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute\u2019s Critical Threats Project, told VOA there are other concerns, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Houthis are now testing U.S. ship-based air defenses in the Red Sea,\u201d Carter said in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, Iran and its partners, allies, and proxies are building a very complete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of U.S.-built air defenses,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is something they will be able to use in the future to target U.S. forces and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOA \u2014 WASHINGTON \u2014 The United States is offering fresh evidence that Houthi attacks on international shipping are being carried out with weaponry designed by Iran, though some analysts and experts warn the findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of the U.S. actions against the Houthis and what it portends of Iran\u2019s weapons development program. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latests"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116334"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116339,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116334\/revisions\/116339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}