Iran’s dispatch of a warship to the Red Sea is its most audacious move yet to challenge US forces in the key trade route, emboldening Houthi militants whose missiles have disrupted shipping over the past two months.
Tehran is unlikely to want direct confrontation — its old frigate being no match for the US-led maritime task force patrolling the waters off Yemen — but it takes the projection of Iranian power in the region to another level. That’s raising tensions after the Houthis started attacking vessels they claimed were headed to or owned by firms in Israel in a bid to end the military assault on Gaza.