The Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen vowed on Wednesday to continue attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, but would only target vessels linked to Israel and said it would “continue to attack ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.” International navigation is safe.” ”
The Houthis, a Shiite jihadist group that claims to be Yemen's official government after seizing power in the capital Sanaa in 2014, have warned global shipping companies that the Houthis can attack their ships. He accused the United States of making him believe that. .
Indeed, the Houthis have attacked a variety of cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which they use to enter the Suez Canal, including those with at best distant ties to Israel and the United States. ing. The Houthis declared war on the state of Israel in October in response to Hamas' atrocities against Israel that month, announcing that they would vigorously defend the ruling party's mass murders, mass rapes, abductions, torture, and desecration of corpses. of Gaza.both Hamas And that Houthis The group received funding from Iran's Islamic regime.
International shipping giant Maersk has twice suspended shipping through the Red Sea, most recently indefinitely, following Houthi attacks on its ships.recent attacks targeted container container Maersk Hangzhoua Singapore-flagged ship bound for Egypt, with no apparent ties to Israel.
Israel destroys Houthi missile outside the atmosphere and wins humanity's first space warhttps://t.co/UJ0JSo7z2Z
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 6, 2023
Following Maersk's decision to suspend trade through the Red Sea, a significant number of shipping companies followed suit, rerouting ships around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
Container ship traffic through the Red Sea and Suez Canal was down 90% year-on-year in the first week of January, with much longer and more expensive routes seeing a significant increase in traffic in the wake of Houthi attacks. .of financial times.
Houthi leaders on Wednesday abdicated responsibility for the severe disruption in international commerce, instead blaming U.S. military efforts to protect ships from Houthi attacks. They also claimed that attacks on shipping in the region would continue.
Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdul Salam said: “Until the invasion stops and the siege on Gaza is lifted, (Yemeni) forces will continue to target Israeli-linked vessels and vessels heading to occupied Palestinian ports. I reiterate that.” SaidThis was reported by the Iranian regime's Tasnim news agency.
This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows a Houthi military helicopter approaching the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, November 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center, via AP)
In the same statement, Salam asserted that “international navigation in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea is safe and Americans must stop misleading the world about the dangers that threaten international navigation in these seas.” did.
“We call on all countries to be wary of falling into the trap of the United States, which aims to militarize the Red Sea for Israel and encourage it to continue its brutal aggression in the Gaza Strip,” it added. .
Salam's remarks followed what U.S. and British officials on Tuesday described as “the largest attack ever by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea,” in which Western forces said the terrorist group had launched a suicide drone attack. 18 aircraft, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles against ships attempting to pass through the route. All drones and missiles were shot down in a joint effort by the U.S. and British navies, both countries announced.
US-led Red Sea Task Force faces difficulties as Biden's call ignored https://t.co/eDppwFGUxQ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 29, 2023
Houthi terrorism spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Salih claimed on Tuesday that US and British forces posed a direct threat to Yemen's “homeland” and that the Houthis had acted in self-defense.
“The Yemeni military will not hesitate to exercise its legitimate rights to defend the homeland and the state and will respond proportionately to any potential threat or hostile move,” he said, according to Iran's propaganda outlet. he said. press tv.
According to Salih, 10 Houthi terrorists were killed in the exchange, in which the Houthis were engaged in a “humanitarian mission to prevent Israeli ships and ships bound for occupied Palestinian ports from passing through the Red Sea. “I am fulfilling my moral obligation.” “Establish security and stability and protect maritime navigation.”
The U.S. operation in the Red Sea is part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a Pentagon-organized coalition of nations that deploys naval assets to the region to protect shipping.
The United States has engaged several key participants in Operation Prosperity Guardian, including neighboring allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as India, which on Wednesday announced its own naval deployment to protect ships from piracy in general. It's failing.
RELATED: Pentagon — 'No indication' Houthis will halt attacks
The Houthis are a jihadist terrorist group that overthrew Yemen's legitimate government in 2014 and plunged the country into civil war. slogan It is “Allah Akbar, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews, victory to Islam.''
The Houthis were a US-designated terrorist organization until February 2021, when then-new President Joe Biden's State Department removed them from the list, confounding the free world. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time that the Houthis' deregistration was necessary to enable humanitarian aid to the country, which is suffering from hunger and disease, but the group had not given up its terrorist activities. He admitted that he did not deserve to be excluded. The Houthis immediately began blocking humanitarian aid following the delisting and subsequent shipments of food and medicine.
The Biden Treasury Department announced targeted sanctions against a small number of individuals in December in response to the Houthis' Red Sea attacks, but as of press time declined to return the Houthis to the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. ing.
