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Iran appears to have sent deadly drones to its allies in Yemen as Middle East tensions heat up across the Red Sea, another major flashpoint where rival forces operate, Newsweek has learned.
Imagery seen by Newsweek and confirmed by an expert who follows Iranian activities in the region indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also called "suicide drones," deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel movement.
"The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs," the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. "They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range."
The unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are weapons assessed to have an effective range of 2,000 to 2,200 kilometers, or roughly 1,240 to 1,370 miles, drawing a massive radius across the region in which a potential attack is suspected to be in the works.
"What they're trying to achieve is plausible deniability," the expert said, "as in being able to strike either a U.S., Saudi, Gulf, or Israeli target and then having the strike traced back to Yemen, and hoping for deniably against any kind of retribution."
An image shared with Newsweek by an expert who follows Iranian activity in the region purports to show a Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicle deployed to Yemen's northern Al-Jawf province, an area under the control the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, movement, on December 25, 2020.NEWSWEEK SOURCE
The latest developments come amid an apparent spike in Red Sea activity, where Iran's top general, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, revealed Wednesday he was to send warships to patrol.
"We are once again in the region of the Red Sea, where the Islamic Republic's merchant vessels have faced some limited aggression in recent times," Bagheri said. "We will deploy our naval patrol and establish full security for our oil and commercial fleet in that sea."
www.newsweek.com
Imagery seen by Newsweek and confirmed by an expert who follows Iranian activities in the region indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also called "suicide drones," deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel movement.
"The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs," the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. "They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range."
The unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are weapons assessed to have an effective range of 2,000 to 2,200 kilometers, or roughly 1,240 to 1,370 miles, drawing a massive radius across the region in which a potential attack is suspected to be in the works.
"What they're trying to achieve is plausible deniability," the expert said, "as in being able to strike either a U.S., Saudi, Gulf, or Israeli target and then having the strike traced back to Yemen, and hoping for deniably against any kind of retribution."
An image shared with Newsweek by an expert who follows Iranian activity in the region purports to show a Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicle deployed to Yemen's northern Al-Jawf province, an area under the control the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, movement, on December 25, 2020.NEWSWEEK SOURCE
The latest developments come amid an apparent spike in Red Sea activity, where Iran's top general, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, revealed Wednesday he was to send warships to patrol.
"We are once again in the region of the Red Sea, where the Islamic Republic's merchant vessels have faced some limited aggression in recent times," Bagheri said. "We will deploy our naval patrol and establish full security for our oil and commercial fleet in that sea."
Exclusive: Iran Deploys 'Suicide Drones' in Yemen As Red Sea Tensions Rise
"The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs," an expert told Newsweek. "They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range."
www.newsweek.com
