The American aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, the British destroyer HMS Diamond, two Indian destroyers equipped with guided missiles… A fleet begins to concentrate in the Gulf of Aden to respond to the Houthis’ challenge to merchant traffic off the coast of Yemen – and specifically, the Strait of Bab el Mandeb – formulated by the Shiite militia protected by Iran.
A total of fourteen incidents have been recorded in the Red Sea since November 19. Eight merchant ships were attacked with Houthi missiles, five also with drones, while another cargo ship, the Galaxy Leader, linked to an Israeli tycoon, remains kidnapped. The situation has led several operating companies to cancel the transit of their ships through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal to avoid falling into the trap that Bab el Mandeb represents right now, the area chosen by the Houthis for their attacks. It is known, however, that some ships have continued sailing through the Red Sea, disconnecting their transponders to avoid being located. Last weekend, US and UK ships intercepted fifteen drones launched against ships.
After several days of declarations of intent, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, announced yesterday the formation of a naval coalition of a dozen countries to patrol the area, under the name Operation Prosperity Guardian. Although the navies of the US, France, the Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for example, were already there, the package of ten will be made up of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles islands and, according to Washington, also Spain. It is led, of course, by the US and nothing prevents others from making an appearance, such as India…
This is the maritime trade route of enormous importance for Europe that is being singularly threatened by an armed political party with a religious base in a branch of Shiism, Ansarulah – or “supporters of god” –, better known as the Houthis by the name of its founders, the brothers Hussein (now deceased) and Abdul Malik al Huthi. Although it is equipped with a limited range of weapons, we must remember how already in 2008 the activity, with very precarious means, of Somali pirates in the region justified an entire European naval police initiative, Operation Atalanta. In fact, Somali pirates boarded a Bulgarian ship flying the Maltese flag on October 15 and took it to their coasts.
Two Houthi spokesmen made their position clear yesterday. “Even if the US mobilizes everyone, our military operations will not stop… The sacrifices do not matter,” Mohamed al Bujaiti said on the X social network, while Ansarhulah’s main spokesman, Mohamed Abdelsalam, insisted in his action in “solidarity with the Palestinian people and against the blockade of Gaza.”
Ansarulah (or the Houthis) is part of the so-called Axis of Resistance sponsored by Iran against Israel and which also includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hizbullah and Iraqi and Syrian Shiite militias. On October 19, it launched missiles and drones towards the Israeli port of Eilat, two thousand kilometers away. The projectiles were intercepted by North American ships and one of them by Saudi Arabia.
As the days have passed, it has become clear that the Houthis’ target is not limited to Israeli interests but to any ship. But it cannot be assured that they act only on behalf of the Palestinians nor that they do so under the orders of Iran, which on the other hand has in them its most efficient actor to put pressure on the Gaza crisis.
Rising to the heat of the Arab springs of 2011, in 2015 the Houthis came to take the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. They have received arms and aid from Iran and Hizbullah, but are more independent than other groups in the Axis of Resistance. They have their own agenda and this right now involves signing peace with Saudi Arabia, which has tried to defeat them (the Saudis see Yemen as their backyard) since 2015 at the head of a rather failed international coalition.
In April 2022, a truce promoted by the US was imposed. With the country divided into factions and on the verge of survival, the Houthis hope for peace to unblock the port of Al Hudaydah and Saudi economic aid. In mid-September they began direct negotiations in Riyadh – which meant recognition – apart from other groups and even the official Yemeni government. According to some versions, the agreement is very close.
Fear that the Houthis would blockade the Bab el Mandeb Strait likely prevented Israel from responding to their attacks. And so the issue of the Red Sea was left in the hands of the United States.
