Direct proof of use
Iranian anti-ship missile systems are documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through Houthi-aligned coastal missile attacks and later weapons-forensics reporting. CTC analysis says the Houthis built up their anti-ship cruise missile arsenal from 2015 through Iranian Nour and Ghadar missiles, two C-802 variants that the Houthis call Al-Mandab-2, and links that weapon family to the October 2016 strike that permanently crippled a UAE high-speed transport vessel.
The family-level evidence continued in the Red Sea escalation that grew out of the same unresolved Yemen conflict. DIA compared Iranian anti-ship cruise missile features with Houthi-linked material, including cruise-missile parts interdicted en route from Iran to the Houthis and engine debris recovered after the 11 December 2023 Houthi attack on M/T Strinda; DIA assessed the engine debris as consistent with the Iranian Tolu-4 engine used in the Noor anti-ship cruise missile family.
Sources: CTC Houthi War Effort, DIA Seized At Sea
Timeline
The anti-ship missile record begins with Houthi access to coastal missile infrastructure and a growing arsenal after the 2014-15 territorial expansion. IISS says the Houthis took control of large parts of Yemen, including strategically important Red Sea ports, and that from 2016 they began projecting force against warships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, UAVs, and USVs, many with design features indicating technology transfers from Iran.
In October 2016, the Houthi-aligned coastal missile campaign produced the first highly visible maritime attacks of the war. CSIS assessed the strike on HSV-2 Swift as most likely a radar-guided C-801 or C-802 fired from Yemen's coast and described subsequent USS Mason engagements as likely involving the same family. By 2023-24, the evidence base shifted toward newer Houthi Red Sea attacks and interdictions, with DIA and CTC both tying Houthi anti-ship cruise missile use to Iranian Noor/C-802-derived systems.
Sources: IISS Navigating Troubled Waters, CSIS Missile War in Yemen, DIA Seized At Sea, CTC Houthi War Effort
Narrative
In the Yemen war, Iranian-linked anti-ship missile systems served as Houthi-aligned coastal strike, maritime interdiction, and area-denial weapons. The documented use was concentrated around Yemen's Red Sea coast, Bab el-Mandeb, and nearby shipping lanes rather than inland battlefields.
The public record supports an Iranian-linked missile-family claim more strongly than exact round-by-round identification. RUSI describes Houthi access to Al-Mandab 2, a close copy of the C-802, notes that Iran reverse-engineered the C-802 into Noor, and says these anti-ship cruise missiles have been used by the Houthis to damage and attack multiple ships since 2016. IISS similarly assesses Houthi primary anti-ship cruise missiles as Iranian-made C-802 derivatives, while noting that the Houthi inventory also included inherited older Soviet and Chinese systems.
For that reason, this entry treats the conflict use as Iranian anti-ship missile system family use by Houthi-aligned forces. It does not imply that every Houthi maritime missile attack was an Iranian-built airframe or that every incident can be assigned to a single named variant; the strongest sources connect Houthi use to C-802/Noor/Ghader/Al-Mandab-derived systems and to Iranian transfer or technology-support pathways.
Sources: RUSI Securing the Red Sea, IISS Navigating Troubled Waters, CTC Houthi War Effort, DIA Seized At Sea
