U.S.-led military coalition strikes Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen
After a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, a U.S.-led military coalition struck Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen on Thursday in a dramatic escalation. The strikes came after repeated warnings from the Biden administration and other governments for the Houthis to stop attacking commercial vessels in the area.
The Houthis, who are protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, have disrupted global trade by making the passage through the Red Sea dangerous for ships to transit. The group has carried out at least 27 attacks since November, prompting the U.S. and partner nations to surge warships into the region to protect against incoming fire.
In a statement, President Biden defended the strikes as a necessary retaliation, citing the danger posed to U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and partners, as well as the threat to freedom of navigation and international commerce.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed U.S. and British forces carried out the strikes with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands. The aim of the strikes was to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ capabilities.
The Houthi leadership has vowed to respond to the attacks. However, senior U.S. officials have blamed Iran for having “aided and abetted” the crisis in the Red Sea, attributing the Houthis’ capability to threaten shipping routes to Tehran’s technological and intelligence support.
The strikes have raised concerns of heightened tensions across the Middle East, following escalating violence in the region. The U.S. military has warned that it is prepared for the possibility of continued violence despite the coalition strikes.
While political leaders and military analysts are divided over the impact of the strikes, the U.S. has attempted to frame the effort as an international campaign against the Houthi violence, enlisting support from more than 40 nations that have condemned the attacks.
The strike marks the first significant U.S. military action in Yemen since the country’s years-long air campaign against al-Qaeda militants and missile attacks on American vessels in 2016. The violence in Yemen ignited a civil war and drew in forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, taking a toll on Yemeni civilians.
The U.S. and U.N. officials have conducted a years-long diplomatic effort to halt the conflict, but a ceasefire that stemmed the violence has since expired, renewing concerns about the ongoing conflict.
The United Nations Security Council recently passed a resolution voicing strong condemnation of the Houthi attacks, sponsored by the United States and Japan and approved by an 11-0 vote, with abstentions from Russia, China, Algeria, and Mozambique.
The strikes have sparked debates about their impact on deterring Houthi attacks and the potential for further escalation in the region. With Iran seizing a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and further tension mounting, experts have cautioned that the strikes may not have the desired effect in deterring the Houthis’ aggressions.
As the situation continues to unfold, the Biden administration’s approach to the escalating violence in Yemen remains under scrutiny, and further developments are expected in the coming days.