The U.S. recently conducted a cyberattack against an Iranian military ship in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to three U.S. officials.
The attack, which occurred over a week ago, was in response to a drone attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan and wounded dozens of others.
The cyberattack targeted an Iranian ship named the MV Behshad, which U.S. officials believe was collecting intelligence on cargo vessels to share with Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Houthis have been using this information to carry out attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea. The cyberattack was intended to inhibit the ship’s ability to provide targeting information to the Houthis.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, denied that the Behshad was providing intelligence to the Houthis, claiming that the ship was in the Red Sea to combat piracy activities. However, U.S. officials believe that Iran has been using the ship to support the Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping.
The Behshad has been operating near the port of Djibouti since January, close to a Chinese military base. Military analysts suggest that Iran may have moved the ship to this location to deter U.S. naval forces from attempting to physically attack or board the vessel.
The U.S. response to the drone attack in Jordan began with airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 2 and included both military strikes and cyber operations. The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. retaliatory strikes had killed or wounded more than 40 Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria.
Additionally, a commander of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, believed to be behind the attack in Jordan, was killed in a drone strike in Baghdad.
Despite these actions, U.S. officials have expressed concern that Iran continues to provide arms and intelligence to its proxies in the region, posing a threat to U.S. forces and allies. The cyberattack on the Iranian ship represents part of the Biden administration’s efforts to counter Iranian aggression in the region.
