The Houthis have been attacking commercial and navy boats navigating the Red Sea and adjacent areas. On Saturday, many countries, headed by the United States and the United Kingdom, commenced operations against the terrorist organization in Yemen.
The strikes were supported by Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. “Today’s necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across 8 locations in Yemen,” said a Feb. 24 joint statement. These targets are “associated with Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter.”
The strikes aimed to “disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, naval vessels, and the lives of innocent mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways.”
A crew member was hurt on February 22 when a British-owned vessel was hit by a Houthi missile strike. A second missile strike on a US-owned ship that was carrying humanitarian supplies to Yemen on February 19 almost happened. An attack against a UK warship the day before had forced the crew to abandon ship.
Since mid-November, the Houthis have attacked over 45 military and commercial boats, posing a danger to both regional security and stability and the world economy, necessitating an international reaction.
The group of countries stated in the joint statement that while their objective was to lower tensions and bring calm back to the Red Sea, they would not think twice about taking retaliatory action to protect human life and the unhindered flow of trade.
The Yemeni Armed Forces would counter the "US-British escalation with more qualitative military operations against all hostile targets in the Red and Arabian Seas," the Houthis declared in response to the coordinated strike, as reported by AP.
According to The Times of Israel, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said that the US and the UK were trying to "escalate tensions and crises in the region" by broadening the scope of the battle.
Regarding the attack, the U.S. The United States "will not hesitate to take action" to preserve trade along one of the most important rivers in the world, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said.
“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attack.”
UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapp also stated his country’s stance on the matter, saying “it is our duty to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation.”
Reactions to the Houthis
Thirty-two US attacks have taken place in Yemen in the last month and a half, some of them in cooperation with partners. Furthermore, American warships have intercepted a number of missiles, drones, and rockets aimed against commercial or naval vessels.
According to the AP, over 120 launchers, 40 storage and support structures, 20 unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles, over ten surface-to-air missiles, and several subterranean storage sites have all been the target of U.S. operations against the Houthis thus far.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated that the Houthis had intensified their assaults over the past two to three days at a news conference on Thursday. She pointed to Iran's support for the organization while acknowledging that the Houthis have not been discouraged.
“We never said we’ve wiped off the map all of their capabilities … We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal,” Ms. Singh said. “They are very capable. They have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.”
There are worries that America's ongoing attacks on the Houthis might turn into an Iranian proxy conflict. According to Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Biden administration has no plans to escalate the conflict in this way. This was stated last month.
“We are not at war in the Middle East … Clearly, there are significant tensions in the Middle East,” he said. “Our goal here is not to escalate or get into a conflict with the Houthis. Our goal is to prevent these continued attacks against the international community and international shipping transiting the Red Sea.”
The Trump administration classified the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) in January 2021. Shortly later, President Joe Biden changed the designation.
But in the midst of the ongoing fighting, the Biden State Department this month classified the Houthis as specifically designated global terrorists (SDGT), a more lenient designation than FTO. The Houthis' access to funding was halted as a result, leading to an asset freeze.
The European Union is bolstering its military presence in the Red Sea concurrently. EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell stated in a statement that it has started a naval mission "to restore maritime security and freedom of navigation in a highly strategic maritime corridor," as reported by Reuters.
“Within its defensive mandate, the operation will provide maritime situational awareness, accompany vessels, and protect them against possible multi-domain attacks at sea,” he said.
