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Israel Sends Submarines, Warships to Red Sea to Deter Iran

Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
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Israel Sends Submarines, Warships to Red Sea to Deter Iran

Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)

Military sources in Tel Aviv revealed that the Israeli army sent a number of submarines, warships and forces from the Naval Commando unit to the Red Sea, raising alert level over possible Iranian move to avenge the assassinations of Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani and nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The Walla Hebrew-language News Agency reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army has placed a number of military units on high alert, including forces from the submarine fleet and the 13th Squadron.

A senior security officer pointed out that an Israeli submarine sailed recently through the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea, and disappeared for several weeks underwater.

The officer noted that the decision to transfer the submarine to the Red Sea was taken in proportion to the security challenges in the region, and constitutes a message that Israel is prepared for all scenarios.

Iranian officials have accused the Israeli Mossad of being responsible for the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, in addition to the involvement of Israeli intelligence in the killing of Soleimani in a US raid in Baghdad.

Two weeks ago, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that the strategic weigh of the Red Sea is increasing, in context of regional and international struggles for influence.

Cohen added that this is a strategic political opportunity for Israel to establish and improve ties with the countries in the region based on security interests. These interests are represented in protecting navigation and finding a deterrence system against Iran and Houthis in the region.

He also warned, in his statements to Walla News Agency, of threats in the Red Sea.

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South Korea, Japan Foreign Ministers Stress Security Ties amid Political Turmoil

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, hold a joint news conference following their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, hold a joint news conference following their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)
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South Korea, Japan Foreign Ministers Stress Security Ties amid Political Turmoil

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, hold a joint news conference following their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, hold a joint news conference following their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

Foreign ministers from South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Monday to discuss strengthening their relations in the face of increasing security challenges in the region and political tumult in the host nation.

It marked the highest-level diplomatic meeting between the countries since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law last month, a move that has triggered political turmoil in one of Asia's most vibrant democracies.

It also came amid heightened concerns about North Korea's missile testing and deepening security pact with Russia, and China's increasingly muscular attempts to assert its maritime claims in the South and East China Seas.

"The security situation in this region is becoming very severe, and in that strategic environment, the importance of Japan-ROK relations has not changed, and in fact has become increasingly important," Japan's Takeshi Iwaya said at a joint press conference with South Korea's Cho Tae-yul.

Iwaya is also due to meet acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, who is standing in for impeached President Yoon.

Yoon has been holed up in his hillside villa in Seoul since parliament voted to suspend him last month over his martial law decree on Dec. 3 with investigators vowing to arrest him in a separate probe into possible insurrection.

At their press conference, Iwaya and Choi also both reiterated the importance of developing three-way security cooperation with their shared ally, the United States.

With the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump set to begin on Jan. 20, none of the original leaders who established the security pact between the countries in 2023 - US President Joe Biden, Yoon, and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida - will remain in power.

Yoon had made it a diplomatic priority to mend ties with Tokyo - often strained by historic issues - and pursue a joint security drive with Washington to tackle North Korea's military threats.

In a nod to those efforts to put aside historic issues, Iwaya earlier on Monday visited the Seoul National Cemetery which honors Korean veterans, including those who died seeking independence from Japanese colonial rule which ended in 1945.

Also on Monday, Japan, the Philippines and the United States vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia's waters, following a call among their leaders.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to South Korea expressed confidence in Seoul's democratic process, although he said Washington had expressed "serious concerns" over some of the actions Yoon took over the course of his martial law declaration.

Despite polls showing a majority of South Koreans disapprove of Yoon's martial law declaration and support his impeachment, his ruling People Power Party (POP) has enjoyed somewhat of a revival.

Support for the PPP stood at 40.8% in the latest Realmeter poll released on Monday, while the main opposition Democratic Party's support stood at 42.2%, within a margin of error and down from a gap of 10.8% from last week, the poll said.