Reports: US Conducted Cyberattack Against Suspected Iranian Spy Ship

The United States recently carried out a cyberattack against an Iranian military ship that had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and passing that information to Yemen’s Houthi fighters, according to US media reports.

Unidentified US officials were quoted as saying that the cyberattack occurred as part of Washington’s retaliation to a drone attack by Tehran-backed militias that killed three American soldiers in Jordan late last month.

There has been speculation for weeks that the ship, the MV Behshad, was operating near the African port of Djibouti to spy on nearby ships and relay that information to Houthi rebels. 

The Houthis, who control large swaths of Yemen, have been firing missiles and drones at vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rebels have said that their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The US cyberattack was intended to disrupt the Iranian ship’s ability to share intelligence with Houthi rebels, the officials said.