Tehran is brokering secret talks between Moscow and the Houthis in Yemen to transfer advanced anti-ship missiles to the Iranian-backed terror army, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
According to the article, Russia has not yet decided to send the P-800 Oniks cruise missiles, marketed as Yakhont, which experts say would allow the terrorist group to more accurately target commercial vessels in the Red Sea, posing a greater threat to American and European warships positioned to defend commercial shipping lanes.
The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Russia was considering transferring the weapons to the Houthis, but this is the first time it has been reported that Iran was serving as an intermediary.
The Houthis have been harassing commercial shipping in the Red Sea and launching drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas in the wake of the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre, which sparked a war that has now been raging for nearly a year.
Jerusalem has recently shifted its attention from the Gaza Strip to its northern border to deal more strongly with Iran’s Lebanese terror army Hezbollah, which began attacking Israel on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from northern Israel by the near-daily rocket and drone attacks. In response, Israel recently added their safe return home to its official war goals, shortly afterwards dramatically escalating its military operations against Hezbollah.
Reuters reported last November that the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror army had acquired the powerful Yakhont missiles, which have a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles).
