Yemen, the poorest Arab country, is the piece that has finally made the United States and the United Kingdom one more party on the ground in the conflict in the Middle East.
Hostilities in the region over the Gaza war are moving towards a new (and unpredictable) phase following the joint and massive air and sea attack by the United States and British forces against the Houthi rebels yesterday.
Washington and London had so far limited themselves to responding to the twenty attacks by pro-Iranian militias against ships in the Bab al-Mandab strait. Yesterday they attacked several regions of Yemen for the first time. Also its capital, Sana. And the Houthi rebels confirmed that at least five of their members have died.
The Americans and British aim to dissuade the militia from carrying out further attacks in the Red Sea. And in the morning, Washington, in an executive decision by the president, Joe Biden, did not hesitate to attack with precision munitions up to 16 places in the Arab country and more than fifty targets, mainly radar and storage facilities and launch of drones and missiles. Combat aircraft and Tomahawk missiles were the protagonists. And the British, in a decision that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took without consulting Parliament, used Typhoon planes and guided bombs in turn.
However, the insurgents say they will continue with actions in support of Gaza, attacking ships they consider linked to Israel or that go to Israeli ports and pass through the Bab al-Mandab strait, which is what gives access to the Red Sea and is central to international trade. About 15% of the world’s maritime transport passes through it and it is essential in terms of the route between the Asian and European markets, and also for the oil trade.
The UN demands an end to the attacks, but the conflict only escalates. The United States blames Iran for the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. And the president, Joe Biden, has assured that he “will not hesitate” to launch new offensives against the Yemeni militia. Tehran warned yesterday that the bombings by the United States and the United Kingdom are fueling insecurity and instability in the region. Moscow has also criticized them. And Saudi Arabia has been quick to call for “moderation”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the other hand, claimed that London and Washington are attacking Yemen to turn the Red Sea into a “sea of ??blood”.
Washington and London claim that the aim is to “reduce tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea”. But for now, the action, supported by Australia (which sent support personnel), Bahrain (even though thousands of citizens protested yesterday about it), Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Korea and the , sparks warlike tension in the area. And just yesterday the militias of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which are considered to have the support of Iran, assured that they had attacked a “vital target” in Elat, the southernmost Israeli city.
A military expert told this newspaper this week in Jerusalem that the crisis with the Houthis in Israel “is far from him”. The Israeli authorities have not yet spoken for Elat.
Faced with instability in the area, Egypt is trying these days to convince shipping companies to continue operating through the Suez Canal. Those in charge of the channel point out that the delicate situation on the commercial route is “temporary”. The giant Maersk and other large shipping companies, on the other hand, are already diverting ships and redirecting them around Africa.
It is feared that the continuation of the war escalation could upset the prices of both energy and the simplest utensils. The former are imported in large quantities from the Middle East and the latter, mainly from China, and until now they crossed the strait of Bab al-Mandab to continue towards the Suez Canal. Now in many cases they are forced to go around the entire African continent, with transport costs that have already tripled and oil prices that yesterday, as a warning, rose by around 2% at the time when the United States and the United Kingdom attacked.
In addition, Iran confirmed a couple of days ago that it has captured an oil tanker “from the United States” in the other key strait for the transport of crude oil and gas from the Arab countries, that of Hormuz. Add to that the fear and previous cases of piracy in the area, and also the recent territorial disputes between Ethiopia and Somalia over the Ethiopians’ agreement with the separatist region of Somaliland to gain access to the Red Sea.
The attacks against the Iran-backed Houthis mark a significant escalation of the war in the region, adding to the war in Gaza and the nearly 24,000 dead, new hostilities on the border with Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah and specific operations in Syria or Iraq. In addition, it coincides with the end of the tour of the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in the Middle East in order to seek support to prevent the expansion of the Gaza Strip war in the region.
Despite the fact that every day that passes it expands a little more.
