U.S. Navy Rescues Crew of Greek-Owned Ship Attacked by Houthi Rebels
U.S. naval forces rescued a civilian crew from a Greek-owned merchant ship struck by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said on June 16....
United States Naval Forces Central Command
Israel’s Top General Meets With Arab Counterparts in Bahrain
The chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Herzi Halevi, met with senior Arab generals in Bahrain this week, Axios reported on June 12. Generals from Bahrain,...
Flash Briefs
Pentagon Deploys Ohio-Class Guided Missile Submarine to the Middle East
Latest Developments An Ohio-class guided missile submarine (SSGN) arrived in the Middle East on November 5, according to a press release by the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Capable of carrying...
Flash Briefs
Strengthened U.S. Force Deters Iran’s Maritime Aggression
A senior U.S. military official said on October 5 that American military units sent to the Middle East over the summer have proven effective in deterring Iranian maritime aggression....
Flash Briefs
Iranian Air Force Conducts Training Exercise
The Iranian air force began an annual air force drill on July 23, a week after the United States announced it was deploying additional assets around the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s growing...
Flash Briefs
U.S. Boosts Middle East Combat Power to Deter Iranian Maritime Aggression
To counter Iranian attempts “to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters,” the Department of Defense announced on July 20 the deployment of a portion...
Flash Briefs
Iran Hijacking Attempt Thwarted by U.S. and British Navies
The U.S. Navy and the UK Royal Navy aided a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on June 4 being harassed by fast-attack vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN). The U.S. Navy’s...
Flash Briefs
U.S. Navy Increases Patrols in Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. Navy is increasing its patrols of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s growing threat to commercial shipping and its seizure of two oil tankers during the last two...
Flash Briefs
Iran Linked to Attack on Commercial Tanker
A U.S. Navy lab confirmed Iran’s connection to a November 15 drone attack on the Liberian-flagged, Israeli-linked commercial tanker M/T Pacific Zircon, according to a press release...
Flash Briefs
A win against Iranian arms smuggling to Yemen
The U.S. Navy announced on Tuesday that it has seized 70 tons of a missile fuel component and 100 tons of an explosive precursor. The items were being smuggled on a ship traveling from Iran to Yemen....
Op-eds
U.S., Israeli Navies Conduct Exercise as Iran Steps up Maritime Aggression
The naval forces of the United States and Israel conducted a four-day bilateral training exercise, dubbed Digital Shield, this month in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. The joint exercise comes in the wake of Iran’s attempts to seize American unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf over the past 30 days. The exercise focused on “enhancing maritime awareness using unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in support of vessel boarding operations,” according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The USVs used in the exercise improve the ability to monitor the malign maritime activities of Tehran and its terror proxies.
Flash Briefs
New Mideast task force can counter Iranian arms smuggling, but more capabilities are needed
Eyeing the continued flow of Iranian weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, the Combined Maritime Forces, a naval partnership comprising 34 nations led by U.S. Central Command, established a new multinational...
Op-eds
From ‘Maximum Pressure’ to ‘Minimal Resistance’
The Biden administration has barely responded to Iran’s escalation of its nuclear program.
Op-eds
Expand Israel-Arab-US military drills to counter Iran and its proxies
Naval forces from Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are conducting a five-day multilateral maritime security operations exercise in the Red Sea. The exercise marks the first...
Op-eds
The Tipping Point in Somalia
In last week's column, I warned that the situation in Somalia has become untenable: while the country's nominal "Transitional Federal Government" (TFG) is nowhere to be found and the Ug...