Houthis using Iranian missiles, drones to attack civilian, military targets across Middle East, DIA confirms

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Houthi militants in Yemen are using Iranian-supplied missiles and drones to attack civilian and military targets across the Middle East, analysis from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) shows. 

The report, “Iran: Enabling Houthi Attacks Across the Middle East,” aims to provide more insight into the relationship between Iran and the Houthis.

The militant group, stationed in Yemen, has for months been striking commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea in protest of Palestinian civilians killed during Israel’s ongoing offensive against Hamas members in Gaza. 

Houthi fighters stage a rally in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the U.S.-led airstrikes on Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.  (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Most recently, Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles at two ships traveling through Middle East waters. 

The first attack happened in the southern part of the Red Sea, west of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, with the projectile causing “slight damage” to the Barbados-flagged, United Kingdom-owned cargo ship Morning Tide’s bridge windows, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. 

The Houthis carried out the attack using three anti-ship ballistic missiles, the United States military’s Central Command said early Wednesday.

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A second ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Star Nasia, also came under fire from three Houthi ballistic missiles, Central Command said. The USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shot down one missile, the military said. An explosion from one of the missiles caused “minor damage but no injuries” on the Star Narsia, the Central Command said.

Last month, the U.S. and its allies began a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for these ongoing strikes in the Red Sea. 

FILE: This photograph provided by the Indian Navy shows U.S.-owned ship Genco Picardy that came under attack Wednesday from a bomb-carrying drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden, Thursday, Jan.18, 2024.  (Indian Navy via AP, File)

For the past decade, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) has been supplying the Houthis with an arsenal of weapons and training, according the DIA’s latest report. This aid has enabled the Houthis to carry out strikes in the Red Sea. 

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Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tells Fox News Digital that the DIA’s report confirms that long-posited belief, based on open-source intelligence sources, that Iran is behind the Houthi’s long-range strike capabilities. 

The Houthis are believed to be the only member of Iran’s axis of resistance – a constellation of proxy and terror forces tied to Tehran – that have so far used medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to Talebu.  

FILE: Houthi fighters walk over British and U.S. flags at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the recent Houthi strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on February 4, 2024, on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen.  (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

“Yemen has also become something of a testing ground for Iranian weapons that are first developed for a proxy and then, after being used in the battlefield, make their way into the public Iranian arsenal,” Talebu said. 

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“Now that DIA has showcased the depth of Iranian missile support and design similarities between Iranian and Houthi projectiles, the question remains, why isn’t Biden doing more to shut down this supply and stymie Houthi missile development?” 

The Associated Press contribtued to this report.

Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.