Author: BlackMask Financial

Tensions are escalating on the Israeli border with Lebanon after an Israeli strike on Monday that resulted in the death of a senior Hezbollah commander and another Hezbollah fighter in southern Lebanon.  Monday’s attack follows the assassination in Lebanon last week of deputy Hamas leader Saleh Al Arouri in another Israeli strike.  Unnamed sources confirmed for Reuters that Israel was behind Monday’s attack, which killed the deputy leader of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, Wissam Al Tawil. The Israeli strike targeted the car Al Tawil was driving in along with another Hezbollah fighter.  A source told Reuters that Monday’s assassination would see the situation “flare up now”, suggesting the Israel-Gaza conflict may have definitively moved into Lebanon.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to “do everything necessary to restore security to the north”, the BBC reported.  The past three months have seen dozens killed, including Hezbollah fighters, Israeli soldiers and civilians, though Hezbollah has been holding back in order to prevent an escalation into all-out war with Israel.  Observers are now concerned that two key assassinations in a row, and most significantly, Monday’s attack on a prominent Hezbollah figure could push the Iran-backed group over the edge. Oil prices on Monday did not respond to these dangerous developments on the Israel-Lebanon front, instead shedding over 4% on Monday afternoon in response to demand concerns triggered by Saudi Arabia’s move to cut the official selling prices (OSPs) for its crude loading in February to all regions. Cuts for Asian importers were the biggest, at $2 per barrel for all Saudi export grades, making the biggest cut in 13 months. Last week’s oil inventory build in the United States as well as a survey showing increased OPEC production in December have also put downward pressure on oil prices.

Shipping giant Maersk said Friday that it would divert all vessels around Africa instead of using the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the “foreseeable future” after Yemeni rebels attacked its merchant ships. The Danish company cited the highly volatile situation and noted that the security risk remains high.

“We have therefore decided that all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future,” it said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the shipping giant said it would not resume passage on the route “until further notice” after putting it on hold over following an attack on the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou.

On Sunday, the Denmark-owned and operated container vessel, which was travelling from Singapore to Port Suez in Egypt, reported being struck by a missile while transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait. It was then attacked by four ships operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels, which “engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel”, the Danish shipping company said. The US military said navy helicopters sank three of the ships while the fourth fled. Since November 18, 25 commercial vessels operating in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been attacked. On Wednesday, 12 nations — led by the United States — jointly urged Yemen’s Huthi rebels for an “immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” while warning of “consequences”. With 12 percent of world trade passing through it, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Red Sea is a “crucial waterway” linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and hence Europe to Asia. Some 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal every year, the gateway for ships entering and leaving the zone. This is the second time that Maersk has suspended shipping through the strait. In mid-December, like other global shipping giants, the Danish company halted passage of its ships through the route, following attacks by the Huthi rebels in Yemen. It announced it would resume shipping on December 24, only to suspend traffic again on December 31, one week later.  The Huthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane. They say the strikes are in solidarity with Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel has bombarded relentlessly for three months, in what it says is a campaign to destroy militant group Hamas

he United States and 12 allies issued a final warning  (ha ha ha) on Wednesday, asking them to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face targeted military action, as reported by news agency AP. The Houthi rebels have carried out at least 23 attacks in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since December 19. According to AP, a senior official of the Joe Biden administration declined to give details pertaining to the rules of possible engagement in case the attacks continue. The official, however, highlighted that the Iranian-backed Houthis should “not anticipate another warning” from the U.S. and its allies. The official, who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, spoke soon after the countries issued a joint statement earlier on Wednesday condemning the attacks and underscoring that international patience was strained. The joint statement was signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Separately, the U.S. called on the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action against the Houthis, as reported by AP. In the statement, the countries also warned Iran that it has a choice to make about continuing to provide support to the rebels. “Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and the release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the countries said, as quoted by AP.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” they further stated.

For weeks, the Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.  The attacks by rebels aimed to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel. However, the links to the ships targeted in the Houthis  assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue. NN: For some reason this final warning from the toothless tigers is not working. It will take a serious escalation to stop the increasing stranglehold of one of worlds most important shipping lanes for cargo and OIL

Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in an attack by Israeli forces, the militant group’s security officials said Tuesday. Earlier, local Lebanese media reported the attack that rocked the streets of the Dahyeh district in southern Beirut and a well-known Hezbollah stronghold. Saleh al-Arouri, a founding member of Hamas’ military wing and head of operations in the West Bank, has been a significant figure in the organization’s activities. His death in an Israeli airstrike represents a significant blow to Hamas and a substantial escalation in regional conflicts with Israel.

Before the recent conflict that began on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already expressed his intention to target al-Arouri. Israel has not yet commented on the events, nor have the Lebanese authorities.

Iran’s Alborz warship has reportedly entered the Red Sea, emerging at a time of heightened tensions in the key shipping route amid ongoing attacks on vessels in response to the Israel-Hamas war.  Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday that the vessel had entered the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, though it was unclear precisely when. Tasnim did not give details of the Alborz’s mission but said Iranian warships had been operating in open waters to secure shipping routes, combat piracy, and carry out other tasks since 2009. The Alvand class destroyer had been a part of the Iranian navy’s 34th fleet, and patrolled the Gulf of Aden, the north of the Indian Ocean and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait as far back as 2015, according to Iran’s Press TV.  The news comes as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group – which was moved to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 invasion of Israel – is heading back to its home in Norfolk, Va. NN: Iran rushes in as the US rushes out. Runs away might be a better way to put it. Bottom line this is  clearly another major step closer to a major confrontation. US deploying World War II tactics will end in a major defeat. The days of naval escorts for protecting ships at sea in the era of smart rockets and drones will not work.

US aircraft carrier to return from deployment to Mediterranean