TEHRAN- Yemeni armed forces have opened a new chapter in operations against Israeli ships as well as U.S. and British ships and warships by expanding their range of fire to the Indian Ocean.

On Friday, the Ansarullah-led Sana’a government announced six new operations in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. 

In the early hours of Saturday, a British maritime security firm reported a separate “incident” involving an “explosion” 65 nautical miles of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. 

In a press briefing, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Yahya Saree first announced the latest operations in the Red Sea and then revealed that Ansarullah forces have also started targeting Israeli ships and ships sailing to or from Israeli ports across the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope. 

“The naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out an operation against the Israeli ship Pacific 01 in the Red Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles,” Saree declared.

The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations and security firm Ambrey reported that Pacific 01 was damaged after being hit west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. 

Ambrey said the “vessel was listed as Israeli-affiliated,” adding that it was headed from Singapore to the Suez Canal with armed guards onboard. 

Saree also announced, “The drone unit of the Yemeni Air Force carried out an operation against an American destroyer in the Red Sea using a number of drones.” 

Saree indicated that at least one of the drones struck the U.S. warship with a direct hit. 

He further revealed that following new instructions by Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, “the Yemeni Armed Forces began to expand the scope of their operations against Israeli ships, those linked to Israel, or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, to include the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope.” 

On this new front, Saree declared the Yemeni Armed Forces have successfully “carried out three operations against three Israeli ships and one American ship in the Indian Ocean, using a number of suitable naval missiles and drones.” 

Senior officials with the Sana’a government have warned, once again, that “any Israeli ship or any ship heading to or from ports in occupied Palestine will be considered a legitimate target”. 

Over the past months, Yemeni forces have been conducting operations in solidarity with Gaza?, where the Israeli regime is waging a genocidal war. 

In a speech on Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced that Yemeni forces will be launching operations against Israeli, American and British vessels in the Indian Ocean. 

He said ships belonging to the “evil alliance of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel” have redirected their shipping route toward the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea but they will come under attack. 

In an attempt to avoid missile and drone attacks from Yemeni forces in the Red and Arabian seas, ships heading toward Israeli ports have chosen to reroute their cargo toward the Cape of Good Hope in the African continent’s southern tip, essentially making the trip much longer. 

“Operations targeting Israeli-affiliated vessels and ships affiliated with the American and British sides are going on with high effectiveness,” Al-Houthi emphasized. 

Before announcing the latest attacks, Ansarullah had carried out 12 operations over the past week targeting ships and warships in the Red and Arabian seas and the Gulf of Aden, using 58 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. 

The U.S. and Britain have carried out at least 35 airstrikes on Yemen since the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan which began a few days ago, with most of the bombs landing in the province of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast in western Yemen, according to a tally by regional media. 

Early on Friday, the U.S. and Britain launched three airstrikes in Hajjah province, hours after targeting the neighboring Hodeidah province with 11 airstrikes. 

Despite increase in attacks, both Washington and London have failed to deter Ansarullah from enforcing a blockade on Israeli maritime movement in the Red Sea or vessels serving the regime. 

The attacks on Yemen have in fact emboldened Ansarullah to expand its range of fire. 

“Any U.S. action in the region will not be able to stop us from supporting Gaza. Our naval operations continue as long as the aggression against Gaza persists,” the Ansarullah leader underlined. 

Earlier this month, the Sana’a government warned “enemies” to expect “new surprises soon”. 

Al-Houthi also praised Ansarullah’s weapon manufacturing efforts in February, saying, “We have surprises that the enemies do not expect at all.” 

Around a week ago, he declared that “what is coming is greater.” 

It is unclear if the operations in the Indian Ocean are part of these “surprises”. 

The Ansarullah chief did point out on Thursday that “we aim to prevent ships associated with the Israeli enemy from crossing the Indian Ocean toward South Africa [and] the Cape of Good Hope.” 

However, Russia’s state media has reported that the Yemeni forces have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal. 

RIA Novosti cited a military official close to Ansarullah as saying a missile that travels eight times the speed of sound has been successfully tested and the Sana’a government forces intend to begin manufacturing it for operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against the Israeli regime. 

This would pose a serious challenge for American, British and Israeli missile systems to intercept such a missile.