Houthi Leader: We Are Ready To Respond To US Aggression

According to their claims, the oiler had previously been seized alongside a large cargo of Iranian crude oil by the US government in 2023 and Friday’s seizure by Iran was a retaliatory act.

According to the official statement of the Iranian Navy, the seizure was carried out following a court order and the approval of the Ports and Shipping Organization in retaliation for “oil theft” by the United States. State media reports also said the oil tanker was being transferred to Iranian ports to be handed over to the judicial authorities.

In the early morning of January 11, the crew of an oil tanker named M/T ST Nikolas, flying the Marshall Islands flag and managed by Greek personnel, issued a distress signal in an area 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, Oman. They reported that four to five unauthorized individuals, armed and wearing black uniforms and masks, had boarded their vessel at around 03:30 UTC.

The Greek company, Empire Navigation, which owns the vessel, subsequently confirmed that it was carrying a cargo of 145,000 metric tons of oil and had a crew of 19 individuals (comprising 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek). The vessel was en route from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga, Turkey.

Saint Nikolas, the oil tanker that was seized by the Iranian Navy today, has a checkered history that played a pivotal role in its capture. This vessel was previously seized by the US in April 2023 when it was transporting 977,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil that was subject to sanctions. At that time, the ship was known as Suez Rajan and was under the ownership of the same company that currently owns it. To secure its release, the owner paid a fine of $2.46 million USD after several months of legal proceedings.

Subsequently, following a US federal court order, the sanctioned Iranian crude oil that had been offloaded from the vessel was sold for a total of $83.4 million USD, following extensive efforts by the US Government to locate a buyer. These efforts incurred additional costs of over $8.85 million USD, resulting in approximately $74.7 million in net proceeds from the oil sale.

Upon its release and return to Greece, the vessel was renamed Saint Nikolas and resumed its operations, primarily carrying petrochemical products worldwide. However, it chose to avoid engaging in any services related to Iran.

To avoid sale of the oil shipment of the Suez Rajan by the US Government, the Iranian regime did its best by means of using the IRGC Navy to seize various commercial ships in Omas Sea, however the pressures didn't work, and Iran's crude oil was finally sold by the US in 2023.

Friday's seizure of the Suez Rajan seems to be the latest attempt of the Iranian regime to compensate for the loss of over $90 million USD of crude oil of the same ship that was sold by the US in 2023. Iran’s state media claim that the oiler was carrying crude purchased by the US; however, vessel tracking websites show its destination was a port in Turkey. It is not known whether that port call for Turkey was a diversion to hide the real destination of the oil tanker.

As revealed by four officials speaking to POLITICO, Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is anticipated to direct its focus initially on US personnel in the Middle East.

“Hezbollah could draw on the capability they have … to put people [in] places to do something,” one of the officials said, referring to a potential attack on the US. “It is something to be worried about.”

Intelligence agencies are amassing data indicating potential attacks on both US troops and diplomatic staff overseas. Rising tensions in the region have officials even expressing increasing apprehension about a potential assault on US soil.

While officials did not disclose specifics about potential attacks, they underscored Hezbollah's capabilities compared to other regional terrorist groups.

In contrast to lone-wolf attacks, Hezbollah, Iran's biggest and richest proxy, possesses a sophisticated international network, enabling coordinated assaults, said the officials.

Criticism has surfaced over the Biden administration's perceived shortcomings in deterring Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, raising the prospect of heightened US involvement in the region amid efforts to counter China and Russia.

Despite escalating threats, senior Biden administration officials publicly stated their belief after October 7th that Tehran and its proxies are not seeking a wider regional war or confrontation with the US.

US troops in the Middle East have already encountered attacks from various Iranian proxy groups, prompting counterstrikes. While Hezbollah has refrained from major attacks since the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, concerns persist.

Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service reported the news on Wednesday. The airport houses international forces, including the United States. The official statement did not disclose any information regarding potential casualties or damage to infrastructure resulting from the thwarted attack.

Tensions in the region have been escalating since the start of the Gaza war, sparked by Iran-backed Hamas's invasion of Israel on October 7. US officials documented over 100 attacks on American interests in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq attributes the actions to their opposition against Washington's support for Israel during the Gaza conflict.

Iran had refrained from attacking US bases for nearly a year leading up to the October 7th invasion by Hamas. During this time, confidential discussions between Tehran and Washington took place, aiming to release billions of dollars in blocked Iranian funds. In an effort to de-escalate tensions, the Biden administration agreed to release at least $8.7 billion held in South Korea and Iraq since June, along with securing the release of five American hostages held by Iran.

However, the Gaza war has triggered action from Iran's proxies around the region. Iran, a supporter of Hamas, issued a warning to the United States, threatening potential threats to US interests if attacks on Gaza persist.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also declared their intention to target both US and Israeli interests in the Red Sea, prompting the formation of a more than 20-nation coalition by the United States to address these threats. Despite the initiative, the Biden administration is facing increasing criticism for its perceived inability to deter Iran and its affiliated groups in the Middle East.

Mark Wallace, the CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran, and Alireza Akhondi, a Swedish parliament member of Iranian descent, voiced their concerns on Wednesday over reports that Amir-Abdollahian is scheduled to travel to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Amir-Abdollahian is an active card-carrying member of the IRGC’s Basij paramilitary force,” Wallace and Akhondi wrote in a letter to the forum and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

They added that granting a visa to Amir-Abdollahian and allowing him to participate in the Davos forum would be “a slap in the face” to the Iranians who have been fighting the Islamic Republic during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Last year, Iranian government officials were not invited to the Davos forum amid the nationwide uprising sparked by the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Iran’s foreign minister is also an affiliate of the IRGC Quds Force and was involved in planning meetings in Beirut and Tehran prior to the Hamas October 7 onslaught on Israel, Wallace and Akhondi noted.

“Switzerland and the World Economic Forum would not dream of inviting Hamas leadership to travel to Davos. By the same token, they should similarly deny a visa and invitation to its major Iranian sponsor,” the letter went on to say.

The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will be held from January 15 to January 19, 2024.

The Houthis, armed by Iran, have been targeting commercial vessels since mid November, after Israel began its onslaught on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack, effectively closing down a major maritime route and disrupting the global flow of goods.

After much deliberation, the 15-member council arrived at a draft with no direct reference to Iran and mild enough for Russia and China to not use their veto. Both countries abstained.

“With this resolution, the Council has lived up to its responsibility to help ensure the free flow of lawful transit through the Red Sea continues unimpeded,” said the US ambassador to the UN after the vote. “The world’s message to the Houthis today was clear: Cease these attacks immediately.”

The Houthis, however, rejected the resolution.

“The United Nations resolution on the security of navigation in the Red Sea is a political game,” a group’s spokesman said shortly after the vote. “Washington is the one violating international law, and what the Yemeni armed forces are doing is a legitimate defense, and any action it faces will have a reaction.”

A key provision of the resolution stresses the right of UN member states, “to defend their vessels from attack,” in accordance with international law.

Hours before the vote at the Security Council, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken once more threatened the Houthis with military response, emphasizing Iran’s role.

“These attacks have been aided and abetted by Iran with technology, equipment, intelligence, [and] information,” he said. “If these attacks continue, as they did yesterday, there'll be consequences.”

Blinken was referring to a barrage of “complex” Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea a day earlier, using “Iranian-designed” drones and missiles, all of which the US and UK forces neutralized, according to the US military.

The Houthis say they act in support of Hamas and only go after vessels that are linked or headed to Israel, although some of the targets have had no discernible link with the country, merely forcing mass reroute of cargo ships that experts say could push up global food prices.

Curiously enough, oil tankers have not been targeted so far, either because the Houthis dread a potentially catastrophic oil leak, or more likely because they have been hinted by their sponsors in Tehran that oil –the Iranian regime’s lifeline– has to remain off limits.

The Wednesday’s resolution condemned “large-scale” violations of the arms embargo against the Houthis without naming Iran, which is the group’s main arms supplier.

Leaving out Iran seems to have been a compromise US and Japan, the resolution sponsors, have had to make to get the nod from the Chinese and the Russians –who, in turn, had to abandon their draft amendment which called the Israeli war on Gaza a “root cause” of the Houthi attacks.

Nonetheless, the Russian representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya did make his country’s position clear.

“In order for the Red Sea waters to become calm again, the current escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone must be resolved, the slaughter in Gaza must be stopped and Palestinian-Israeli settlement must be addressed seriously,” he stated.

The Houthis say they will only stop their operations if Israel stops theirs in Gaza. The group has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, which the US and Israel reject.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the US does not support a ceasefire because it only benefits Hamas.