Russia Reportedly Supplied GEOINT Data For Houthi Assaults On Western Ships In Maritime Chokepoint

In the Middle East, Russian intelligence officials have allegedly provided Iran-backed Houthi rebels with geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) data for strategic planning and operational decision-making to attack Western vessels in the critical maritime chokepoint of the southern Red Sea. 

According to The Wall Street Journal report: 

The Houthis, which began their attacks late last year over the Gaza war, eventually began using Russian satellite data as they expanded their strikes, said a person familiar with the matter and two European defense officials. The data was passed through members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who were embedded with the Houthis in Yemen, one of the people said.

There was no mention of specifics about the GEOINT data Russia provided IRGC/Houthis for attack and reconnaissance missions in southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Besides satellite imagery, there was no word if the Russians and/or IRGC used unmanned aerial vehicles to provide Houthis with high-resolution imagery and/or real-time data streams to track commercial vessels or western warships – or use the streams for weapon guidance. 

Alleged Russian assistance may explain how the Houthis have expanded their threat coverage of missiles and drone attacks across the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Since November 2023, Houthis have hit more than 100 ships in the region, sinking two and hijacking another. 

Source: WSJ

“In the Middle East, the Russian assistance underscores a tectonic shift in its strategy. Putin has strengthened ties with Iran, while turning a cold shoulder to his longstanding relationship with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” WSJ noted. 

Weak foreign policy emanating from the Biden-Harris administration has left the Middle East in flames. Not being tough on Houthis to ensure freedom of navigation in the critical maritime chokepoint has sparked major supply chain snarls in global shipping, as container ships diverted by the hundreds around the Cape of Good Hope, straining container supplies and thus boosting shipping costs. 

It’s interesting seeing Democrats who once warned that former President Trump would bring the world to the brink of nuclear disaster, yet under Biden and Harris, the world is closer than ever to World War III: Wars spiraling out of control in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, while China could take Taiwan at any moment. The US needs a strong leader – not weak – not Marxist woke.