BEHSHAD
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Iranian spy ship suspected to search for targets for Houthis
The 'Behshad', owned by Iran's Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management Co., has been accused of playing a central role in disruptions to commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and of being a source for vital information for the Houthis. It was even suspected of having sabotaged submarine cables in the Red Sea when damage was noted to these infrastructures used for the transit of Internet data. The ship was nearby at the time of the incident. Even the USA seemed to be convinced that the 'Behshad' is not just a simple cargo ship. The vessel was the target of an American cyberattack which temporarily paralyzed it in February. Two weeks later, it was operational again. The official Iranian version – that it is a commercial ship – is difficult to swallow for experts. It is, for example, far too equipped for a commercial cargo ship. In Jan 2024, it left the Red Sea enroute to the Gulf of Aden and then positioned itself about 100 kilometers from the coast of Djibouti and began zizaging in the Gulf of Aden. The arrival of the ship in the Gulf of Aden coincided with a sharp increase in attacks on ships in this area. The 'Behshad' is thus suspected of crisscrossing the area in search of potential targets for the Houthis and sending them geolocation data so that they can strike right.
Cyber attack on Iranian spy ship
The USA recently carried out a cyber attack on the 'Behshad', an Iranian military spy ship. The Tehran military ship had gathered intelligence on cargo ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The cyberattack, which occurred more than a week ago, was part of the US administration's response to a pro-Iranian militia group's drone attack on a US military base in Jordan which had killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others. Washington officials said on Feb 16, 2024, that the cyber operation was intended to hamper the ability of Iranian military spy ships to share intelligence information with the Houthi group in Yemen which has fired missiles and drones at the ships. Iran used the military ships to provide targeting information to the Houthi group so that their attacks on target ships could be more effective.
New spy ship in Red Sea
Iran has pulled back to port the damaged spy ship 'Saviz' in the Red Sea and replaced it with a new spy ship, the 'Beshdad', according to satellite images which showed the vssel sailing into and stopping near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The cargo vessel is believed to be a spy ship gathering intelligence in the strategic waterway for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. It had set sail from the port of Bandar Abbas in early July, and arrived in the Bab el-Mandeb nine days later. A few days after the arrival of the Behshad another Iranian ship registered as a cargo vessel, the 'Saviz', was seen by satellite being pulled away by two tugs. She had patrolled the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since 2016, but was damaged in April, when a limpet mine, attached to the vessel, exploded. It was widely believed that Israel was responsible for the attack. As well as monitoring traffic in the strategic waterway, the spy ships are thought to also be engaged in help the Iran-backed Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.
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