Houthi rebels attacks continued on Tuesday and drones were shot down by an Italian warship in the Red Sea.
Italy’s military said on Tuesday morning that its Caio Duilio destroyer shot down two drones in what was described as an act of self-defence. The warship is part of an EU maritime protection mission in the region.
Houthi rebels attacks in the Red Sea have continued to disrupt global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
Despite reprisals from the US, supported at times by the UK, the Houthis have continued with their campaign of attacks on commercial vessels in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Meanwhile reports suggest one target could be the Behshad, an Iranian vessel in the Red Sea that experts believe is a spy ship that provides intelligence to Iranian-backed Houthi rebel.
Experts say the United States is unlikely to hit the Behshad, which would be viewed by Iran as a major escalation and could trigger a direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
Built in 1999, the Behshad was constructed as a cargo ship. But it only attracted wider attention in 2021, when it replaced another vessel -- the Saviz -- in the Red Sea.
The Saviz had long been suspected of helping to smuggle weapons and provide intelligence to the Houthis, but it had to be towed back to Iran after a mysterious explosion.
Aurora Intel, an open-source intelligence group that monitors the Behshad via satellite imagery, repoted that the vessel has remained largely stationery in the Red Sea since it replaced the Saviz.
The group said the Behshad had switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) -- meaning it was not broadcasting its location -- and was being guarded by Iranian Navy vessels.
The Iranian Navy has maintained a presence in the Red Sea for years. Currently, two Iranian warships -- the IRIS Alborz and IRIS Bushehr -- are believed to be located close to the Behshad.
Aurora Intel said that small boats regularly visit the Behshad.
“Why would you constantly have small vessels going back and forth from a cargo vessel that is monitored by the navy?” the group asked. “They are moving people, not cargo.”
Aurora Intel said the Behshad turned on its AIS transponder on January 3, a day before it departed its position in the Red Sea, moving south and through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Gulf of Aden.
Since January 11, it has been in a holding pattern just 100 kilometers east of the port of Djibouti, according to the ship-tracking and maritime intelligence service MariTrace.
Many of the Huthis’ drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels have occurred in the Gulf of Aden.
Some circles in the United States have called on Washington to strike the Behshad after the Houthis started targeting commercial vessels.
U.S. media, citing officials, have said Washington’s response will come in waves and can take weeks. The targets, they say, include Iranian-backed militias and Iranian assets outside Iran.