When we left our story on Monday, the Iran Shahed was in the Gulf of Aden heading for the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and was expected to arrive at Hodeidah, Yemen on Thursday, 21 May. A U.S. military spokesman had encouraged Iran to have the ship offload its cargo in Djibouti and let the UN transport it to Yemen. But the Iranians were having none of that.
By Wednesday morning, however, Iran had decided to allow the ship to be inspected by the UN in Djibouti, before it continued on to Hodeidah. That is significantly different from what the low-level U.S. military spokesman — the only person who made an official U.S. suggestion — proposed.
Iran Shahed turned toward Djibouti on Wednesday. Djibouti refused the ship entry on Wednesday – apparently in something of a diplomatic tizzy over the prospect of the uncoordinated stop – but on Thursday, at 6:30 PM Djibouti time, Iran Shahed was finally able to dock.
The Optimistic Conservative 