Tracking Maritime Attacks in the Middle East Since 2019

Aug 3, 2024
Also available in
Updated Mar 20, 2025
Screenshot excerpt of a StoryMap covering maritime attacks in the Middle East.
About the Authors
Noam Raydan
Noam Raydan

Noam Raydan is a Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Farzin Nadimi
Farzin Nadimi

Farzin Nadimi, a Senior Fellow with The Washington Institute, is a Washington-based analyst specializing in the security and defense affairs of Iran and the Persian Gulf region.

Articles & Testimony

Part of a series: Maritime Spotlight

An interactive map showing the extent to which Houthi forces, their Iranian military patrons, and other actors have been targeting vessels in regional waterways for years, including well before the Hamas-Israel war.

The Hamas-Israel war put a spotlight on local maritime threats, with Houthi militants and allied military forces exchanging strikes while international shipping companies scramble to keep their vessels from being targeted. Yet these threats have been evolving since well before the Gaza crisis.

To capture the pulse of these attacks and their recent escalation, The Washington Institute has traced major shipping incidents in a series of interactive maps covering the periods before and during the Gaza war, with an initial batch of incident entries published January 31, 2024, and regular updates made as the situation evolves. Also included are sections focusing on featured incidents and policy recommendations from Washington Institute experts.

View the project on StoryMaps.

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Part of a Series

Maritime Spotlight

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