It follows an admission by US President Joe Biden that airstrikes alone may not contain Houthi terrorists in Yemen, with three more vessels hit last week.
Efforts to stop the flow of Iranian arms have been ongoing, with United States Central Command (CENTCOM) revealing that US Navy Seals had seized advanced Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components during a nighttime raid on a ship on the Arabian Sea.
Now their efforts will be enhanced by a squadron of 120 SBS soldiers, who have joined with Navy Seals in Djibouti to carry out a new operation.
It will see them sail in locally-sourced Arab dhows, traditional one or two-masted boats common in the Red Sea, to allow them to more closely observe suspect vessels.
Operating in small independent teams north and south of Bab el Mande, they will use fast boats stowed specially on board to speedily reach and board them.
“We know that strikes are only part of the answer. Houthis are well-trained by Iran and have had plenty of time to hide and secure their weapons,” said a senior source last night.
“We have ways of locating these caches and baseplates , including intelligence sources as well as contacts in Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces.
“In the meantime, cutting off the supply of those weapons is now the priority. Using dhows will allow us to gain closer access while psychologically unsettling would-be smugglers.”
These include advanced drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, precision-strike ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles.
But the scale of Tehran’s involvement was laid bare last night after it emerged that commanders from its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are physically on the ground in Yemen, directing the Houthi attacks.
HMS RIchmond, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, was due to reach the Red Sea next week to support HMS Diamond and the Coalition of US and Italian warships. It will mark the first time in 20 years that Britain has deployed three vessels to the region.
HMS Diamond shot down the Royal Navy’s first aerial threat in more than 30 years when it down an incoming drone last month.
However, though it can carry 48 Sea Viper missiles, it joined Red Sea operations with just 24 and will probably take the opportunity to replenish stocks in Oman.
The Type-45 destroyer’s advanced Sampson radar system can spot a target as small as a cricket ball at a distance of 250 miles, and has been an important asset to the US-led multinational task force.
Last night it was revealed that the Sea Viper system would receive a £405m upgrade, which will allow it to down ballistic missiles for the first time, and increase the range that Sampson can detect enemy threats.
Defence secretary Grant Shapps said:” As the situation in the Middle East worsens, it is vital that we adapt to keep the UK, our allies and partners safe. Our strong and enduring relationship with British industry has ensured we can deploy the latest technological capabilities wherever they are required while supporting hundreds of jobs across the country and bolstering UK prosperity.”
It comes as Iran’s intelligence chief in Syria was killed along with his deputy and two other senior commanders in an airstrike on Damascus.
Senior figures of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011, helping to support President Bashar al-Assad against widespread rebellion to his rule.
