The US State Department on Wednesday condemned a series of missile and drone attacks on US and British commercial ships by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen.
The attack was evidence that President Joe Biden’s Operation Prosperity Guardian is doing little to protect ships or deter Houthi attacks.
State Department condemned Recent attacks by the Houthis on “civilian vessels and innocent seafarers” are being carried out as acts of terrorism and piracy. The statement said the Houthis frequently target ships carrying food to starving countries, including Yemen, and their actions “have a negative impact on people in need around the world.”
“Contrary to what the Houthis try to claim, their attacks do nothing to help the Palestinian people. Their actions do not bring a single ounce of aid or food to the Palestinian people.” the statement added.
After accusing the Houthis of tormenting starving people, including Palestinians and Yemenis, and endangering the fragile peace process in Yemen’s civil war, the State Department announced concrete consequences if the pirate attacks did not stop. I stopped revealing it. The Houthis have reportedly succeeded in shutting down one of the world’s busiest shipping routes in defiance of the US and UK.
The State Department stated:
We and our partners will take appropriate action, as necessary, to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi attacks in this vital international waterway, and to protect vital economic and humanitarian assistance to countries in the region. I’ll keep taking it.
Nothing the Biden administration has done so far has “protected”, but US and UK warships have defended themselves and thwarted a Houthi attack that could have caused even more severe damage to civilian shipping. I have made a valiant effort to do so.
Biden administration announced In December, a coalition was formed to protect shipping from the Houthis. The mission, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, reportedly involved more than 20 international partners, but few provided more than “staff and other types of support.” Some partners even refused to be named publicly.
The Biden administration allowed the Houthis to attack both U.S. troops and civilian vessels with impunity for weeks, before finally authorizing limited airstrikes against several targets on Yemen’s coast. .
as navy times It pointed out On Tuesday, these attacks did not significantly reduce the Houthis’ ability to launch terrorist attacks against civilian ships. In fact, the Houthis just carried out their most devastating attack on a cargo ship. Force British owned, Belize flag MV staff Rubimar Abandon ship on Sunday.
of Rubimar still abandoned It remains floating but submerged in water in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday morning. The ship’s owners are reportedly considering the possibility of towing it to Djibouti, but a maritime advisory has been issued for all vessels to avoid the area around the ship in distress, fearing that the Houthis may attack rescue efforts. There are concerns that this may be the case.
“Despite their own human rights abuses, the campaign has elevated the rebels’ standing in the Arab world in a years-long stalled war with several of America’s allies in the region. Analysts said the attack It warns that the longer this continues, the greater the risk that disruptions to international shipping will begin to weigh on the global economy. navy times He observed gloomily.
Houthis attacked On Monday, two American cargo ships reportedly shot down an MQ-9 Reaper, a top-of-the-line unmanned aircraft, in a fiasco. Confirmed Wednesday by the Department of Defense. Houthi media posted footage of fighters triumphantly pulling the remains of the Reaper out of the sea.reaper drone Fee Up to $30 million per case, depending on equipment.
“A U.S. MQ-9 was shot down or crashed off the coast of Houthi-controlled territory in the Red Sea, Yemen. Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” said Sabrina, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman.・Singh told reporters on Wednesday.
One of the American ships attacked on Monday, the MV champion of the sea, was reportedly Bringing much-needed grain to Yemen. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) added that the destroyer USS. Laboon It was attacked by 10 bomb-laden drones and anti-ship cruise missiles earlier this week, but was able to intercept the weapons.
Centcom said the U.S. retaliatory strikes destroyed a surface-to-air missile launcher and a drone, but the Houthis were undaunted and insisted their attacks would continue until Israel halted its operations against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. did.
“What the world longs for is not the militarization of the Red Sea, but an urgent and comprehensive ceasefire declaration in Gaza for obvious humanitarian reasons. “Without this blind human support, the Israeli organization would not have continued its crimes against Palestinians in Gaza,” a Houthi spokesperson said on social media.
The Houthis launched a new missile attack on Thursday, this time reportedly Set up a Palau-flagged cargo ship called islanders A fire breaks out in the Gulf of Aden.
of islanders By broadcasting a message that non-Western crew members were on board, the same issue showed it had no confidence in the Biden administration’s protection and was desperate for the Houthis to rescue them. It was one of several ships. One of the ships that collided on Monday, MV Navis Fortuna It attempted to broadcast a message that the crew was “all Chinese.”of islanders It sent a message saying “Syrian crew members are on board.”
The Houthis appear to have fired at least two missiles, starting a fire on board the ship, and were able to launch a missile toward the Israeli city of Eilat at about the same time. Israel’s Arrow defense system was able to intercept some of the missiles fired at Eilat.
bloomberg news report On Thursday, the Houthis and their Iranian backers announced they were “increasing their military and defense capabilities to continue attacks on shipping.”
Among other measures, the Houthis have moved missile launchers to fortified mountain hideouts, whose altitude could help them attack targets further out in the Arabian Sea. It is also testing new drone weapons, including unmanned submarines (UUVs). Saudi Arabia, which has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen for years, has warned that the militants could use their undersea capabilities to cut vital internet cables that run through the Red Sea.
Centcom Said On Sunday, it was announced that a UUV that the Houthis were preparing to launch toward an unknown target in the Red Sea was destroyed in one of their “self-defense” attacks.
Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the government recognized globally for the collapse of the Houthi rebels in 2014, said at the Munich Security Conference last weekend that the Houthis were encouraged by their success and ” “They are starting to try to extract concessions from the West that have nothing to do with it.” It is a conflict between Israel and Hamas. ”
Alimi called the situation a “strategic dream for Iran,” which has humiliated the Biden administration and deployed significant terrorist influence over international trade without firing a shot itself.
Insurgent leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said last week that the world was “witnessing a strategic failure in terms of American influence and dominance in the region.”
The Houthis claim to have lost about 22 of their 20,000 fighters in US-led airstrikes, a small price to pay for their growing prestige in the Middle East.
Eleonora Aldemani, Fellow of the Italian Institute of International Politics warned On Tuesday, the Houthis would be “under temptation to further escalate against U.S. interests in the Red Sea and region,” but “deterrence options” are diminishing for the Biden administration.
