There is a tense duel in the Red Sea between Yemeni rebels, backed by Iran, and the multinational maritime defense force led by the United States. On Monday, January 1, Iran deployed the warship Alborz to the region, a day after a deadly confrontation between the American army and the Houthis. The deployment complicates Washington's efforts to stop Houthi attacks on merchant ships at this global maritime crossroads. According to US media, if US President Joe Biden does not rule out direct attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, he is relying on deterrence to prevent a regional expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The deployment of the multinational naval force in mid-December 2023 did not put an end to the attacks. Since the Oct. 7 war began between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have increased attacks on ships they say are “affiliated with Israel” in solidarity with the Palestinian territory. According to the Pentagon, they launched more than a hundred drone and missile attacks, targeting ten merchant ships. They have been holding the Galaxy Leader and its 25 crew members since November. As a result, shipping giants stopped allowing their ships to transit through the Red Sea, a strategic route through which 12% of global trade passes.
On December 31, 2023, the first deadly clashes with the American army occurred in the Red Sea. The American Middle East Military Command (Centcom) announced that it had sunk three rebel ships after attacks on a container ship belonging to the Danish transport company Maersk off the coast of Hodeidah. Ten Houthi rebels were killed in the attack, according to their military spokesman Yahya Saree. During this relief operation, the American destroyer USS Gravely fired two ballistic missiles fired from Yemeni territory under Houthi control “toward American military vessels,” Centcom added.
A dilemma for the Biden administration
“The American enemy is bearing the consequences of this crime,” the Houthi rebels denounced in a statement, and “their military movements in the Red Sea to protect Israeli ships will not prevent the Houthis from “fulfilling their religious, moral and humanitarian duties “. Support those who have suffered injustice in Palestine and Gaza.” Danish shipping giant Maersk has announced that it will suspend the transit of its fleet in the Red Sea for 48 hours. Their ships had just returned to the area, as had those of the French shipowner CMA CGM.
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