It said that it was passed on to the Houthis, who have been sanctioned by both the UK and US, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces which some want to see banned as a terrorist group in the UK.

Alexander Gabuev, director of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, a think tank based in Berlin, told the newspaper that Russia would benefit from any instability.

“For Russia, any flare-up anywhere is good news, because it takes the world’s attention further away from Ukraine and the US needs to commit resources – Patriot systems or artillery shells – and with the Middle East in play, it’s clear where the US will choose.”

The Red Sea is where ships travel to and from the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping channels, with vessels initially forced to divert thousands of nautical miles around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after the Houthis first started launching attacks.

Earlier this month it emerged that Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known as “The Merchant of Death”, who was freed by Joe Biden in 2022, is selling Russian weapons to the Houthis.

Bout is reportedly dealing arms to rebels in Yemen less than two years after he was freed in exchange for Brittney Griner, the US basketball player.