Security and Security Against Yemen: The Houthi Regime in the Shocked Shipyards of the Japanese-Origin Galaxy Leader
However, their targets increasingly have little — or no — connection to Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe. There is a risk of a U.S. strike on Yemen, which could upend a fragile cease-fire.
Today’s defensive action follows this extensive diplomatic campaign and Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels. The United States and our partners don’t tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to endanger the freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes. I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.
An initial draft of the resolution would have recognized “the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to take appropriate measures to defend their merchant and naval vessels.”
The United States is asking the UN to condemn the attacks by the rebels in Yemen, calling them a threat to regional peace and security, according to a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press. The first ship the Houthis attacked, the Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader, was seized by the rebels in November, along with its crew.
The latest U.S. attack on Yemen condemns Iranian-backed Houthi rebels as extremists and threats to the Red Sea
The Red Sea links Asia to Europe via the Canal and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. 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. Nearly 10% of all oil traded at sea passes through it and an estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait annually.
The Red Sea will continue to be blockaded until Israel ends its aggression and the siege on the Gaza Strip ends.
“The U.K. alongside allies have previously made clear that these illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and if continued the Houthis will bear the consequences,” Shapps said in a statement. We will protect innocent lives and the global economy.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps described the assault as “the largest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date,” saying the Diamond used Sea Viper missiles and guns to shoot down multiple drones.
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 and British warships shot down missiles fired by the Houthi rebels at ships in the Red Sea. No damage was immediately reported.
Off Mokha, ships saw missiles fired, a drone in the air and small vessels trailing them, Ambrey said early Wednesday. The British military’s United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations also acknowledged the attack off Hodeida.
With the latest U.S. attack on Yemen, what will it mean for Iranian-proxies 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 United States, meanwhile, killed a senior Iranian-affiliated militia leader in Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi, also known as Abu Taqwa, who the U.S. says was behind attacks on its forces in the country. The attack incensed some Iraqi leaders who said the killing violated its sovereignty and raised questions about ongoing U.S. presence.
The War on the Houthis: State of the Art in the Middle East and the Challenge of a Middle-East Security War for the United States
Israel responded with an offensive in the Gaza Strip it says is meant to destroy Hamas, which rules the territory. According to the health officials there, Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip has resulted in more than 23,000 deaths, of which most are women and children.
The conflict in the Middle East was getting worse before U.S. strikes in Yemen. Since October the Pentagon has recorded more than 120 attacks by the Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq. A recent assault in Irbil, Iraq, left three U.S. service members wounded, one critically with a head wound from shrapnel.
Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have all advocated for a more targeted ground campaign,Protection of Civilians and greater Humanitarian Aid to Gaza.
“The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level,” the shipping giant Maersk said in a statement on Jan. 5. All Maersk vessels will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope in order to transit the Red Sea.
The Houthis — more so than other Iranian-supported groups, like the Palestinian group Hamas or Hezbollah in Lebanon — have a sophisticated arsenal of weapons provided by Iran, he says, including medium-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching southern Israel as well as an array of drones.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington is a nonprofit think tank with a focus on Iranian security and political issues.
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that a retired Marine general said that the time was right to send a message to Iran, after serving as the U.S. regional commander in the Middle East.
“This is a global crisis caused by weak presidential leadership,” Wicker said in the news release. It is time for the president to allow the commanders of the region the freedom of action they need in order to end the terrorist behavior of the Houthis.
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.
The Biden administration has been telegraphing possible retaliation against the Iranian-backed Houthi militants for days, with one senior official saying the Houthis would face “consequences” if the attacks continued. The official said the president met with the national security staff on New Years Day to discuss options.
The US, the UK, and several other countries carried out attacks against targets in Yemen that endanger the freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf.
The only other Middle Eastern country that agreed to participate was Bahrain. Even though many countries in the region depend on trade that goes through the Red Sea, many do not want to be associated with the United States, Israel’s closest ally, analysts say.
The task force brought in the United States, Britain and other allies and has been looking after the Red Sea.
Rerouting vessels around Africa adds an extra 4,000 miles and 10 days to shipping routes, and requires more fuel. But continuing to use the Red Sea would raise insurance premiums. Either option would bruise an already fragile global economy.
The world’s biggest container companies, MSC and Maersk, have said they are avoiding the region, and shipping companies are left with difficult options.
Observational condemnation of the U.S. action against Houthi militants in Yemen and their axions of resistance in the Middle East
In 2014, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened to try to restore the country’s original government after the Houthis seized the capital, starting a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands.
They have built their ideology around opposition to Israel and the United States, and are part of the Iranian-led axis of resistance. Their leaders often draw parallels between the bombs used to attack their forces in Yemen and the arms that were sent to Israel and Gaza.
Today, Israel defends itself against a charge of genocide brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. Yesterday, South Africa argued Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 people is directed not only at Hamas militants but all Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people — most of them women and children — according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Activists in the United States shared pictures of the protests that took place in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain on Friday. The kingdom’s government has not acknowledged its role, but it was named in the statement announcing the strikes.
Israel is continuing to exceed all bounds in its bombardment and war on Gaza without any consequence, while the allied country that started this military action uses it.
Even close ally of the U.S., Sultanate of Oman, expressed concern that the American action would only inflame the conflict in Yemen, a reflection of the fear that the action would not deter the Iranian-backed rebels.
Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denounced the strikes as “a violation of international laws” and said they “will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region.”
The answer to the US strikes is going to be bigger, according to the interview with Mr. Abdul Salam.
Many in the Middle East, including some U.S. allies, condemned the American-led airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday and warned that they risked causing a broader conflict in the region.
The Up First Show: High-energy protests against the U.S. strikes Houthis; Israel defends against genocide charges
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Hundreds of people gathered outside the court yesterday, chanting slogans for and against each other. A teacher who traveled to the court says he agrees with South Africa due to the destruction in Gaza.
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