The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) fires its Mark 45, 5-inch 54-caliber gun during an integrated live-fire event, March 30, 2023, in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson)
The United States carried out a cyberattack against an Iranian military vessel that the Pentagon says was gathering intelligence on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen, U.S. military officials told NBC News on February 15.
The cyberattack, which occurred more than a week ago, was part of the Biden administration’s response to the drone attack by Iranian-backed forces in Iraq that killed three U.S. service members at Tower 22 base in Jordan and wounded more than 40 others late last month, the officials said.
U.S. analysts had suspected for weeks that the ship, the Behshad, was operating near the African port of Djibouti, which lies across a strait from Yemen, to spy on nearby ships and pass that information to the Houthi.
The group, who control northern Yemen and much of the country’s Red Sea coast, have been firing missiles and drones at Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The cyber attack was intended to inhibit the Iranian ship’s ability to share intelligence with the Houthis, the officials said. The information gathered by the ship made the group’s attacks more effective, according to the officials.
Since January, the Behshad has been operating close to a Chinese military base in Djibouti, according to ship tracking data. Iran may have chosen to move the ship near the Chinese base to discourage U.S. naval forces from trying to physically attack or board the vessel.
Roughly 12% of global shipping passes through the Red Sea. In the wake of repeated Houthi attacks, shipping giants like Maersk have announced pauses in their operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The New York Times previously reported that the U.S. had conducted a cyberattack against Iranian targets as part of the response to avenge the attack on Tower 22. That response also included strikes against Iranian-backed forces in seven sites in Syria and Iraq as well as the assassination of a senior commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Iran has not yet commented on the reported U.S. cyberattack on Behshad. The attack was not likely that effective, as the Houthis continued to target ships near Yemen with much success. On February 15 a British-affiliated ship was struck in the Gulf of Aden.
