Radical Islamic groups, this time backed by state-sponsored terrorism, are once again attracting international attention, and the threat of a regional Middle East war is worrying world leaders.
The Houthi terrorist group has been a perennial thorn in the Red Sea, attacking warships and commercial vessels for almost a decade using increasingly sophisticated weapons systems.
Following the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, Houthi-led attacks in the Red Sea have increased significantly, and the group has vowed not to stop its activities until Israel stops its attacks against Hamas and the Palestinian people.
But these attacks are not just rooted in Houthi opposition to the Gaza war, but also represent increasingly sophisticated geopolitical tactics by America’s main adversaries, Iran and Russia.
Houthi fighters march during a rally calling for support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and opposition to the U.S. attack on Yemen, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups across the Middle East have offered to come to Lebanon to join the militant Hezbollah group in the fight against Israel. (AP Photo)
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“The Houthis have become a key player in Iran’s strategy to strangle Israel,” Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founding editor of The Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.
But Houthi attacks in the Red Sea not only serve Iranian strategy, but also support Russia’s war against Ukraine and, ultimately, the United States and NATO.
Earlier this month, reports emerged suggesting Russia may be seeking to supply weapons to Houthi terrorists in the Red Sea in retaliation for significant U.S. support for Ukraine.
US defense officials have said they do not believe Moscow has transferred weapons to the terrorist group, but the news comes after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov reportedly met with Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam earlier this year.
The meeting was reportedly an attempt by the militant group to encourage Russia to pressure the United States to end the war in Gaza.
Western defense officials have warned that Houthi attacks in the Red Sea not only threaten lives in international waters, but also lead to food and trade shortages around the world, exacerbating global food insecurity, particularly in Africa, sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The British-flagged cargo ship Rubimah was filmed sinking on March 3 after being attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels while sailing in the Red Sea. (Al Jumhuria Channel via Getty Images)
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“You can’t look at these issues in isolation,” Roggio said. “Anything Russia can do to punish them, [the U.S.] “Military costs, economic costs, political costs. It exacerbates problems across the Middle East and raises the costs of U.S. support for Ukraine.”
“Russia will exploit any conflict that the United States is involved in,” he added. “We are kind of returning to a Cold War-style situation where this is spilling over into theaters where the United States has a direct interest.”
Roggio said it was “highly likely” that Russia was in direct contact with the Houthis, but he believed it was more likely that Moscow was operating through Tehran.
“What Iran is doing is beneficial to Iran,” he said. “It’s almost like Russia is outsourcing its pain to the U.S. through Iran.”
Russia-Iran cooperation first attracted global attention after Iran agreed to supply drones to Russian President Vladimir Putin, just six months after the start of the deadly war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, December 7, 2023. (Sergey Bobilyov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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Since then, Iran and Russia have forged a mutually beneficial partnership as part of efforts to counter Western sanctions imposed on the two countries for a variety of security reasons.
As Houthi attacks intensify in the Red Sea, it is becoming increasingly clear that the militant group is being used by both Iran and Russia for geopolitical purposes.
From mid-October to July 2023, There were about 290 attacks. The U.S. Navy helped thwart attacks by Yemen-based Houthi terrorists targeting commercial and military ships in the Red Sea, as well as attacks against Israel, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a nonprofit data collection organization.
Despite the increased US presence in the Red Sea, General Eric Kurilla, head of US Central Command, has reportedly advised Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that US military operations in the region are “failing” and called for a broader approach. The Wall Street Journal Earlier this month.
Participants in a protest in solidarity between Palestinians and Yemen’s Houthi rebels raise rifles and shout slogans, in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on March 22. (Mohamed Hammoud/Getty Images)
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“What we’re doing is basically targeting the weapons systems. We’re not trying to target the Houthi leadership or the military or political leadership,” Rosio said. “We want to get to the root of the problem. It’s the Iranians who are behind all of this.”
“The Iranians didn’t have to pay the price,” he added.[They] The Houthis are happy to fight to the death, but that won’t have much impact on Iran.”
