The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 24, 2023, a Telegram channel affiliated with Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) shared[1] a map of networks of submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. The map was accompanied by an implied threat: "There are maps of international cables connecting all regions of the world through the sea. It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents – not only countries – pass near it."
On the same day, a Telegram channel affiliated with Lebanese Hizbullah published [2] a satellite image of the Red Sea, the Arabian Peninsula and the Arabian Sea, and wrote: "Did you know that internet lines connecting the east to the west pass through [the] Bab-el-Mandeb [strait]?" The "Al-Fatih110" Telegram channel, which supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, similarly quoted the Houthis as stating that "the global internet cables which pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait are in our grip," and questioned if this was a "veiled message to the Western coalition."
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, Houthi Ansar Allah has launched missiles at several ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden[3], and regularly issues threats against the U.S., Israel, and their allies in the region.[4]
[1] Telegram, December 24, 2023.
[2] Telegram, December 24, 2023.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM reports: Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Attack On Two Ships In Red Sea 'With A Connection To' Israel; Responding To Projected U.S. Launch Of Operation Prosperity Guardian Houthi Spokesman: 'Whoever Aspires To Expansion Of The Conflict Must Bear The Consequences', December 19, 2023; Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Launch Of Drones At Israel, Missiles At Two Vessels In Red Sea 'En Route To Israel;' Movement Spokesman: Allowing Food And Medicine Into Gaza 'Likely To Contribute To Decrease In Escalation', December 17, 2023; Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Drone Attack On Container Ship In Red Sea, Repeats Threats To Stop Any Ship Sailing To Israel Through Red Sea And Arabian Sea, December 15, 2023.
[4] See MEMRI JTTM reports: Houthi Ansar Allah Movement: Operation Prosperity Guardian 'Aggressive Step;' U.S. Bears Consequences; Houthi Official: 'Direct War With U.S. Preferable To War With Its Tools', December 24, 2023; Senior Member Of Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims U.S.-Led Naval Force Launched To Protect Israel, 'Not International Shipping Traffic'; Threatens Retaliation Against Neighboring Countries If Airspace Used To Target Yemen, December 21, 2023; Leader Of Yemen's Ansar Allah Houthi Movement: 'If America Sends Its Troops To Yemen, It Will Face Something More Severe Than What It Faced In Afghanistan Or What It Suffered In Vietnam', December 20, 2023.
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