Iran replaces stricken Red Sea spy ship with new focus on oil tankers

ADEN -- The Iranian regime last month replaced a spy ship on the Red Sea that was damaged in April, and is continuing to carry out intelligence and logistical missions with a renewed focus on international tankers, say Yemeni analysts.

Iran withdrew the stricken ship Saviz and replaced it with a similar ship, the Behshad, CNN reported August 6, citing two US officials.

Though listed as a cargo ship, the Saviz was used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to gather intelligence in the critical Bab el-Mandeb strait and assist Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen, officials said.

The vessel sustained damage in an early April limpet mine attack believed to be carried out by Israel.

The Behshad, an Iranian ship registered as a general cargo vessel, left the port of Bandar Abbas in early July, reaching its destination in the strait nine days later, according to satellite imagery provided to CNN by ImageSat International.

A few days later, the Saviz, which had been patrolling southern Iranian waters since 2016, headed home to Iran.

Iran has ordered the Behshad to monitor the strait, specifically oil tankers affiliated with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and other countries that Iran classifies as hostile or allies of the United States, said Abaad Studies and Research Centre director Abdulsalam Mohammed.

It can also conduct military operations against these tankers if needed, he said.

The Behshad will carry out the tasks of the Saviz, including logistical operations for the Iran-backed Houthi group and providing information on the Yemeni territory and on the process of manufacturing unmanned boats, he said.

The Abaad Centre conducted a study in January 2019 investigating the Saviz's tasks, concluding that it played a tactical role in smuggling arms to the Houthis, said Mohammed.

Command-and-control personnel of the Iranian armed forces were likely present on the ship, enabling it to carry out potentially hostile acts or smuggle weapons to the Houthis, he said.

Continued threat

The replacement of the Saviz with the Behshad became necessary after the former was attacked, "to play roles that serve Iran's agenda in the region and exert maximum pressure on neighbouring oil-exporting countries", said political analyst Faisal Ahmed.

The Behshad is expected to be equipped with more advanced technology than what the Saviz carried "to better perform its role, serve the Houthis, control communications and facilitate the smuggling of weapons and advanced missile and drone technologies to the Houthis", he said.

Iranian leaders in the past have threatened to block oil exports from neighbouring countries after the imposition of US sanctions, he noted.

"It appears that Iran... sees itself as exercising a legitimate right by having some of its naval ships [stationed] in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and international territorial waters," said political analyst Waddah al-Yaman Abdul Qader.

The replacement of the Saviz with the Behshad, the modernisation of Iranian naval vessels, the IRGC's smuggling of weapons to Yemen and the attacks on ships in international waters are all taking place "within the eyesight and earshot of the international community and are sure to have many consequences", he said.

Such actions increase the volatility of the Middle East, especially given Iran's presence in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen via its armed proxies, he said.

Last month, an Iranian drone attacked a Liberian-flagged tanker with ties to an Israeli shipping billionaire off the coast of Oman, killing two people onboard.

The United States has presented evidence that clearly incriminates Iran in the attack on the Mercer Street tanker.

On August 4, Iranian gunmen boarded and took control of the Asphalt Princess, off the coast of the UAE, for a number of hours.

The White House has described Iran maritime actions as "belligerent behaviour".

"And these actions also threaten freedom of navigation through crucial waterways -- something that is posing a risk to a range of countries around the world," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters August 5.