Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have stepped up their drone and missile attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, forcing major firms to take the longer, costlier route around the southern tip of Africa. According to the Pentagon, the Houthis have launched more than 100 such attacks, targeting shipping from at least 35 different countries. The Houthis have been trained and armed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the Iranian regime’s main military force. Kamikaze drones manufactured in Iran have been used in the attacks.

Now, in a threatening escalation, the Pentagon has claimed the Iranians were behind a Dec. 23 drone attack on the MVPluto ship, a chemical tanker flying the Liberian flag and operated by a Dutch entity. The ship is owned by a Japanese company. The drone, which according to the Pentagon was fired from Iran, exploded above the tanker in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles off the Indian coast, causing a fire and some damage, although no casualties were reported. The mullahs’ regime has now threatened to use similar attacks to close the Strait of Gibraltar to shipping unless the Israelis call a ceasefire in Gaza. A senior IRGC official, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, told Iran’s state-controlled Tasnim news agency that Iran could force the closure of other major sea routes unless Israel halted its war with Hamas. “With the continuation of these crimes, America and its allies should expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways,” he said.

Reacting to the increasing threat, the US warship Laboon has shot down four........

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