The Revolutionary Guard threatens to close the Mediterranean Sea

The Revolutionary Guard threatens to close the Mediterranean Sea “Bloomberg”: 180 ships modify navigation plans in “Al-Ahmar” due to Houthi attacks

In today's bulletin...

The series of tensions continues in our region in the Middle East, after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened to close the Mediterranean Sea, while a Hebrew television channel said that Iran targeted an Israeli commercial ship off the Indian coast.

Bloomberg reported that 180 container ships changed their plans to cross the Suez Canal to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, suggesting an increase in shipping costs and commodity prices.

While the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Security Council resolution, issued by a majority yesterday, calling for taking urgent steps to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, without a ceasefire, other international and concerned parties saw it as insufficient and threatening due to the continued operation of the Israeli war machine.

The Revolutionary Guard threatens to close the Mediterranean... and a Hebrew channel: Iran targeted an Israeli ship.

Today, the Assistant Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Naghdi, threatened to close the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and other waterways, if the United States of America and its allies continue to commit crimes in Gaza, indicating “the birth of new resistance forces,” according to the Al-Arabiya website.

Today, an Israeli commercial ship was subjected to a fire after it was struck by a drone off the western coast of India, according to the British maritime security company Ambrey.

The Hebrew Channel 12, for its part, said that the attack on the Israeli ship was carried out with a drone launched from Iran, while the White House accused Iran yesterday of being involved in planning attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea, by providing the Houthis with drones and missiles in addition to tactical intelligence information.

“Bloomberg”: 180 container ships modify navigation plans in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks

Bloomberg said last Thursday that about 180 container ships changed their course towards the Cape of Good Hope, or stopped temporarily, awaiting instructions to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, expecting hundreds of companies to join the decision.

The agency explained that while the large-scale rerouting threatens ship voyage times, shipping costs will rise in the short term, and thus the prices of some commodities will rise.

The cost of shipping goods per container coming from Asia to northern Europe rose by 16% last week and by 41% this month, according to the Drewry World Container Index, issued last Thursday, and fuel shipping bills jumped in conjunction with the decision of major oil companies to avoid the southern sea. the Red.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said last week that only 55 ships had changed their course from the Suez Canal since last November 19, while 2,128 ships had crossed during that period.

Executive Vice President of Shipping at Geodis, a logistics company, pointed out that ships that avoided the Suez Canal and headed to the Cape of Good Hope would spend about 60 days traveling from China to Europe compared to 40 days via Suez, which could raise costs by four to five times. According to Bloomberg.

Mixed reactions to the Security Council's decision to bring more aid into Gaza without a ceasefire

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Security Council Resolution No. 2720 issued yesterday regarding taking immediate steps to bring more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and the United Nations appointing a humanitarian coordinator responsible for monitoring it, without a ceasefire.

The previous draft resolution, submitted by the UAE, as the Arab member of the Council, was approved by 13 of the 15 Council members, with the United States and Russia abstaining from voting.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, criticized the wording of the resolution, claiming that Washington had imposed it, and considered it "a blatant, unprecedented and unprincipled extortion that reflects Washington's contempt for the suffering and hopes of the Palestinians" because it did not include a ceasefire, without which the process of introducing aid would be difficult. impossible.

Deputy Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Brett Jonathan Miller, for his part, said that humanitarian aid “flows into Gaza every day” and that Israel will continue to inspect aid before entering the Strip, while the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, indicated the need for urgent action. To save lives, as Palestinians are starving, “and they have no water, no food, no medicine, or barely anything.”

Hamas criticized the Security Council resolution, considering it an “insufficient step” to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza. It described the resolution as a “weak formula,” accusing the United States of seriously seeking to “empty the resolution of its essence.”