The Houthi Attack on Tuesday: The First Test of the United States’ Right to Defend the Right Trade Route between Asia and Europe
The targets have a lack of connection to Israel and jeopardize a vital trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe. There is a risk of a US strike on Yemen that could upend a cease-fire that has held in the country.
A U.S-led coalition of nations has been patrolling the Red Sea to try and prevent the attacks. Despite warnings from the US, there hasn’t been a wide strike yet. The attack on Tuesday appeared to be a test of what the response would be from Washington.
The final draft is weaker, eliminating any U.N. recognition of a country’s right to defend its ships. The ship’s navigation rights and freedoms need to be respected, and the member states have the right to defend their vessels from attacks.
The U.S. says the Houthi attacks are nothing more than an assault on international shipping in a waterway that hosts as much as 15% of the world’s trade.
The Red Sea links the Mideast and Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, and its narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The strait is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It is home to almost 10% of all oil traded at sea, and it is also home to an estimated $1 trillion in goods every year.
Syria and the Middle East: The U.S. Mission and the Counterattacks Against the Shiite-backed militias in the Red Sea
The attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground assault that is targeting the Gaza Strip. The links to the vessels targeted in the attacks have become less strong as they continue.
If the illegal attacks continue, the rebels will be held responsible, Shapps said in a statement. “We will protect the world’s economy and innocent lives.”
The British Defense Secretary said that the Diamond used weapons to shoot down multiple drones and that the attack was the biggest by the Iranians in the Red Sea.
It said 18 drones, two cruise missiles and the anti-ship missile were downed by F-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as by American Arleigh Burke-class destroyers the USS Gravely, the USS Laboon and the USS Mason, as well as the United Kingdom’s HMS Diamond.
The US military said the Shiite rebels launched a complex attack which included bombs, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile.
There were missiles fired, a drone in the air and small vessels following them off Mokha. The British military acknowledges the attack off Hodeida.
With the latest U.S. attack on Yemen, what will it mean for Iran in the region? Will they increase their attacks on shipping or U.S. troops? Will Iran get more involved? Already Iran has a sent a frigate into the Red Sea.
The US killed a leader of a militia in Baghdad that was blamed for attacks on its forces. Some Iraqi leaders said the killing violated the country’s sovereignty and raised questions about ongoing U.S. presence.
After its attack on Gaza, Israel retaliated by exchanging fire with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, and even killing a Hamas official in Lebanon.
The conflict in the Middle East expanded before the U.S. strikes in Yemen. Iranian-backed militias have continued attacks on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, with the Pentagon logging some 120 attacks since October. A recent assault in Irbil, Iraq, left three U.S. service members wounded, one critically with a head wound from shrapnel.
A steady stream of U.S. officials — from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — have all pressed for a more targeted ground campaign, protection of civilians and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Maersk, the Sudanese Sea, and the War on Yemen: The U.S. and the Houthis as a Security Force
The situation is constantly evolving and is highly volatile, according to the shipping giant Maersk, which said that the security risk is at an elevated level. In the foreseeable future, all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea will be diverted to the Cape of Good Hope.
He says the Iranian-backed group in Yemen, the Houthis, have an arsenal of weapons that include missiles that can reach southern Israel and an array of drones.
Behnam Ben Taleblu is an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, and he wonders if the strikes were designed to send a message.
“Tehran and its proxies are pressing their attacks because they haven’t confronted steel,” McKenzie wrote. “The ability to stop such probing generally depends on a swift and violent counterattack.”
One former U.S. regional commander, retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who served as the top officer in the Middle East, said in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last week that it was time to act against the Houthis, and send a message to Iran.
The news release states that the crisis was brought on by weak presidential leadership. The time has come to allow our commanders the freedom of action they need to bring an end to terrorist behavior by the Iranians.
Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said recently on ABC’s This Week, that the Biden administration must take a tougher stance against the Houthi militants.
A senior official in the Biden administration has said that the Houthis would face consequences if the attacks continued. The president met with his security team on New Year’s Day to discuss options.
Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.