The United States says it does not want war with the Houthis in Yemen, but is increasingly finding itself in one of the Middle East's hottest flashpoints. This Shiite rebel group has announced that it will now consider American and British merchant ships in the Red Sea as legitimate targets, just hours after one of its missiles hit an American merchant ship southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden. On Friday, US and British forces attacked targets of these groups in Yemen; In a speech in the British Parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak separated the instability in these waters from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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The merchant ship, the Gibraltar Eagle, was flying the Marshall Islands flag, although owned by the American company Eagle Bulk, and was carrying a cargo of steel. A statement from the US Central Command on social media assured that the missile did not cause serious damage or injuries. The company that owns the attacked ship stated that some of the cargo was hit, but the damage was limited: “As a result of the impact, the ship suffered damage to the cargo area, but is stable and is moving out of the ship.” Two hours earlier, Washington's forces had discovered another missile fired at merchant shipping lines in the southern Red Sea, but that projectile missed its target and fell on Yemeni land, according to Central Command.
The latest Houthi attacks pose a challenge to diplomatic and military pressure from the United States and its allies to get the militias to stop harassing merchant ships entering the Red Sea, a trade route through which 15% of global trade flows. According to Central Command, on Sunday a U.S. warplane shot down a missile that was fired at the warship Laboon, which was also traveling in those waters, with no damage or injuries reported.
Last Friday, the United States and the United Kingdom struck at least 60 Houthi targets in 28 locations in Yemen to neutralize their ability to attack commercial vessels. Then, according to the Pentagon, they destroyed air defense surveillance systems, radars, and cruise and ballistic missiles. A day later, US forces attacked a radar system. The aim, as Washington and London claimed, was purely defensive, to protect commercial maritime traffic. But they also warned that they would repeat the reprisals if the Houthis' harassment continued. The Pentagon acknowledges that the rebels are at 75% of their attack capacity and that hostile actions continue.
The Yemeni militia claims it is attacking Israeli ships or ships en route to Israel to force the country to end its offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians; 1% of the entire population of the strip. The US asserts that the Houthi claims are untrue and that the group indiscriminately attacks ships in the region. Several shipping companies have rerouted their ships to sail around Africa and avoid the Red Sea. You have chosen a longer and more expensive route, but one that is considered safer.
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This Monday, the Houthi militia announced that it would also include American and British ships in its attack targets. “It is not necessary that the ship goes to Israel, it is enough that it is American,” the group's spokeswoman Nasruldeen Amer said in an interview with Qatari television channel Al Jazeera.
For his part, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom appeared this Monday before the House of Commons to announce details of the joint operation carried out on Friday against the Houthis. Rishi Sunak was not required to inform Parliament before making the decision, nor did he have to submit it to MPs for approval. However, previous experiences such as the Iraq War in 2003 or the Syria bombings in 2013, which caused strong opposition in Labor and Conservative ranks, advised Sunak to seek the greatest possible consensus and complicity from the opposition and as soon as possible to step forward the camera.
“I do not choose to use violence carelessly. The action was in self-defense. It was limited without seeking escalation. “It was a necessary and proportionate response to a direct threat against British ships and therefore the United Kingdom,” said Sunak, who has warned that his government was prepared to respond to future attacks. “Of course, we will not hesitate to protect the safety of our citizens and our own interests,” he said.
The prime minister wanted to clarify any connection between the instability in the Red Sea and Yemen and the war unleashed between Israel and Hamas. “We cannot subscribe to this evil narrative that tries to link this to what is happening in Israel and Gaza. They are dedicated to attacking ships from all over the world. [El Gobierno del Reino Unido] Continue working to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and send more aid to civilians. We continue to support reaching a negotiated solution to the Yemeni civil war. “None of what was a direct response to the Houthi attacks on international shipping has anything to do with that,” Sunak said. The Labor opposition, led by Keir Starmer, has pledged its support to the government, but has demanded that future attacks against the Houthis be consulted in advance in parliament.
The hostile actions of the Houthis and the response of the United States and United Kingdom have raised fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into the Middle East. The United States insists it does not want to become involved in further conflicts in the region. Iran, the main backer of the Houthis as well as other radical Islamic groups in countries in the region, has also shown no signs of wanting to enter into a direct confrontation.
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