Iran mediated secret talks between Russia and Yemen's Houthi rebels on the transfer of anti-ship missiles to the militant group, Reuters reported, citing three Western and regional sources, indicating that this shows Tehran's deepening ties with Moscow, UNN writes.
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Seven sources said that Russia has not yet made a decision on the transfer of Yakhont missiles (also known as P-800 Onyx), which, according to experts, will allow the militant group to more accurately target commercial vessels in the Red Sea and increase the threat to American and European warships that protect them.
Two regional officials briefed on the talks said the Houthis and Russians had met in Tehran at least twice this year and that negotiations to supply dozens of missiles with a range of about 300 km were ongoing, with more meetings expected in Tehran in the coming weeks.
In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia was considering sending missiles. Iran's mediation role has not been reported before.
Russia used to supply Yakhont missiles to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the newspaper said.
One source said that the talks began under Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
"Russia is negotiating with the Houthis to transfer supersonic anti-ship missiles Yakhont," a Western intelligence source said. - "The Iranians are mediating the talks, but they don't want to put their signature on it.
Neither Iran's UN mission nor Russia's Defense Ministry responded to requests for comment. "We don't know anything about what you mentioned," said Mohamed Abdel-Salam, a spokesman for Yemen's Houthis.
A senior U.S. official declined to name specific systems that might be transferred, but confirmed that Russia is discussing supplying missiles to the Houthis, calling the development "extremely troubling.
A US Department of Defense spokesman said that any attempts to strengthen the Houthis' capabilities "would undermine shared international interests in global freedom of navigation and stability in the Red Sea and the Middle East as a whole."
Russia and Iran are developing closer military ties amid Russia's war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the United States said that Tehran had transferred ballistic missiles to Moscow for use against Ukraine.
According to the three sources, "one of the reasons Moscow is arming the Houthis is the possibility that Western powers may decide to allow Ukraine to use its weapons to strike further into Russian territory.
A senior U.S. official said that the talks between Russia and the Houthis "seem to be related to our position on Ukraine and what we are or are not willing to do" regarding Kyiv's requests to lift restrictions on the use of long-range U.S.-supplied weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia, the newspaper reports.
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Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships with drones and missiles in the most important shipping channels of the Red Sea to demonstrate support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war with Israel.
They sank at least two ships and hijacked another, causing disruption to global maritime trade, forcing shipping companies to reroute cargo and, according to industry sources, increasing insurance costs for ships plying the Red Sea.
In response, the United States and the United Kingdom struck at Houthi positions, but failed to stop the group's attacks.