Japan In Direct Talks With Iran-Backed Houthis After Ship Hijacking

"We have said multiple times that resistance groups in the region act independently and spontaneously based on their interests and that of their people," foreign ministry's spokesman Naser Kanaani said at a press briefing. He added that Israeli claims were aimed at diverting attention away from Israeli's "irreparable defeat" in its battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement after the hijacking, calling it "an act of Iranian terrorism that expresses a leap in their aggression", asserting that "no Israelis were present on the ship and the ship is owned by a British company operated by a Japanese company."

"This is another Iranian act of terrorism that represents an escalation in Iran's belligerence against the citizens of the free world, with concomitant international ramifications vis-a-vis the security of global shipping routes."

The alleged Houthi attack comes after calls by Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei to ban shipment of oil and food to Israel. His call was repeated by his ultra-hardliner loyalists such as Hossein Shariatmadari, who runs the Kayhan Daily newspaper in Tehran.

The hijacked ship is Galaxy Leader, registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar who goes by Rami. He is the founder of Ray Shipping Ltd., and is known as one of the richest men in Israel. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.

The Houthis, an ally of Tehran, have been launching long-range missile and drone salvoes at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas militants fighting in Gaza.

He said Sunday,"I hope that God will liberate Palestine as soon as possible, and we witness the final moments of Israel's existence and celebrate its end."

The Iranian regime has consistently called for Israel's destruction, and until now, refused to call it anything other than 'the Zionist entity'. Demonizing the world's only Jewish state has long been a justification for Iran's substantial financial and military support to militant groups like Hamas in Gaza which waged war on Israel on October 7, murdering at least 1,200 mostly civilians and taking another 240 into Gaza.

So strong is the mission since the establishment of the Islamic Republic that while the Iranian economy is on its knees, the regime continues to fund hundreds of millions of dollars each year into its proxies across the region.

In spite of funding the group at least $100m a year and supporting it with military and technical aid, Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Iranian regime was unaware of Hamas' October 7 terror attack against Israel. The report quoted three anonymous senior officials as stating that in a recent meeting in Tehran, Khamenei told Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh: “You gave us no warning of your Oct. 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf.”

Hamas later denied the claims backed up by the fact that there had been months of top level meetings between the regime, Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah in the months leading up to the war.

On Sunday, the supreme leader also called on Muslim nations to hamper Israel economically as the calls for Israel's end continue unabated.

"Some Islamic governments have condemned Israeli crimes in assemblies while some have not. This is unacceptable," he said Sunday, though it was unclear which nations he was referring to as nations across the Arab world all have stood by Gaza in the wake of the war declared by Hamas on October 7. Israel's relentless retaliation has seen several Muslim countries expel Israeli ambassadors, including Turkey and Jordan.

Iran, a financial and military supporter of Hamas, has lauded the attacks on October 7 which saw 1,200 mostly civilians killed in Israel and 240 more taken hostage, as a "success", while denying direct involvement.

His calls for severing ties come on the heels of Khamenei's recent call for an Islamic embargo on oil and food to Israel during a summit between the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League on November 11, where Muslim states did not reach a consensus on imposing extensive sanctions on Israel, as suggested by Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.

Khamenei delivered his latest remarks at an exhibition showcasing the "latest achievements" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force, introducing the Fattah 2, an upgraded version of Iran's purported first hypersonic missile.

He criticized Israel for falling short of its goal to destroy Hamas despite extensive bombings in Gaza. Israel however, has destroyed large swathes of Hamas infrastructure across Gaza from command centers to parts of its extensive tunnel network, in addition to killing at least 5,000 terrorists, including numerous high level commanders, in its mission to eradicate Gaza of Hamas.

This weekend, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain became the first Arab leader to unequivocally condemn the Hamas attacks which saw women, children and the elderly savagely murdered in the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, calling the attack "horrific". The country, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, has stood firm in condemning Israel's retaliation but the rare branding of Hamas's attacks as "barbaric" rang loud across the Arab world which has as yet, largely avoided direct criticism of the proscribed terror group.

In a social media post, the military said that the vessel, which it did not name, was not Israeli-owned and had no Israelis among its crew. Arabic-language media outlets say there are 52 crew members aboard the vessel. Israeli PM's office says onboard the vessel are 25 crew members of various nationalities including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican.

It is not yet clear how the Houthis mounted the ship, but Journalist Ben Caspit says there was unverified report that they landed on it by helicopter. 

The hijacked ship is Galaxy Leader, registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar who goes by Rami. He is the founder of Ray Shipping Ltd., and is known as one of the richest men in Israel. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement after the hijacking of the ship, calling it "an act of Iranian terrorism that expresses a leap in their aggression", asserting that "no Israelis were present on the ship and the ship is owned by a British company operated by a Japanese company."

"This is another Iranian act of terrorism that represents an escalation in Iran's belligerence against the citizens of the free world, with concomitant international ramifications vis-a-vis the security of global shipping routes."

In 2021, the Revolutionary Guards attacked the MV Helios Ray in the Gulf of Oman. There was no retaliation after the attack on the vessel, which was also owned by Tel-Aviv based company called Ray Shipping. 

Earlier on Sunday, the spokesman for Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi military, Yahya Sarea, said the group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag, according to the group's Telegram channel. The spokesman called on all countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of any such ships.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that “resistance groups allied to Iran are cleverly adjusting pressure" on Israel and its supporters. The ‘resistance' front or axis is the term coined by the Islamic Republic to describe its logistic, financial and intelligence support for the Syrian regime, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and dozens of militia groups in the region, several of which were created by Iran. 

"Resistance groups still have inactivated capacity (for pressure on Israel)," he added.

Last Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian denied responsibility for a drone attack that was intercepted by the US Navy in the Red Sea. According to the Pentagon, a US Navy warship shot down a drone early Wednesday morning that “originated from Yemen and was heading in the direction of the ship.” Although the Pentagon did not specify who was behind the attack on November 15, the incident occurred after Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen vowed to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea.

Iran-backed Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,200 civilians and taking at least 240 hostages, after which Israel started a massive retaliation against Gaza. It has seen since Iran-backed proxies around the region instigating attacks from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The alleged Houthi attack comes after calls by Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei to ban shipment of oil and food to Israel. His call was repeated by his ultra-hardliner loyalists such as Hossein Shariatmadari, who runs the Kayhan Daily newspaper in Tehran. The firebrand Hossein Shariatmadari called for blocking "maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Oman Sea, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal,” in a Kayhan Daily editorial, which is funded by the Supreme Leader.

Prior to this, an Iranian ultraconservative lawmaker also claimed last week that Houthis had targeted Israeli ships after Ali Khamenei had made public statements against Israel.

In a rare moment in which a regime representative speaks of Israel in its internationally accepted name, rather than 'the Zionist entity' as is standard, he said: "The only solution is to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth and from the world map."

He also said anyone supporting such a solution to the Middle East's most intangible conflict, was committing "treason and complicity in Israel's crime".

The provocative stance from Kayhan comes in the wake of Iran's recent acceptance of the two-state solution, a move that appears to have irked the ultraconservative elements in the country.

Last week, an ultraconservative lawmaker initiated impeachment proceedings against Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, accusing him of "weakness in playing a central and effective role" in addressing the Gaza conflict. The war has become the most bitter conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas since the designated terror group took control of the strip in 2007 following a Hamas invasion on October 7 in which 1,200 mostly civilians were murdered and around 240 more were kidnapped to Gaza. 

Mahmoud Abbaszadeh-Meshkini, a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, questioned the shift in discourse, stating, "How is it that until recently, the goal was to eliminate the Zionist regime, but now the discourse has shifted."

The two-state solution proposes an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, aiming to address the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, disputes over borders persist, particularly regarding Israel's withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967, a demand rejected by Israel.

Iran has traditionally maintained a public position advocating for the annihilation of Israel as a state, rejecting any two-state agreement. Despite this, on October 27, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a "humanitarian truce" in Gaza, which Iran voted in favor of.

While hardliners within the Iranian regime continue to call for the destruction of Israel and express eagerness to engage in the Gaza conflict, the top leadership has been cautious, avoiding direct involvement in spite of its funding Hamas over $100 million a year and supporting it with military aid.