Written by: Katie Barnett; Edited by: Luke Wagner
On Thursday, the United States conducted its fifth round of airstrikes against the Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group based in western Yemen. Purportedly in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Houthi militants have launched missiles at Israel and hijacked cargo ships passing through the Red Sea.
The Houthis have claimed that all of the ships they attacked were Israeli-owned or operated, but many have been commercial ships with no connection to the Government of Israel – such as Tuesday when Houthi missiles directly hit a Greek cargo vessel. Houthi Red Sea attacks have severely impacted international trade and many major shipping companies have stopped using the Red Sea route – opting for the much longer route around southern Africa.
The United States and the United Kingdom militarily intervened in the Red Sea earlier this week. On Thursday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh explained that the United States determined that the Houthis “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region.”
Ms. Singh asserted that the US is not at war with the Houthis and does not want to see a regional conflict. However, Ms. Singh was emphatic that U.S. intervention will continue until the Houthis stop their assault on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
President Joe Biden echoed Ms. Singh’s remarks on Thursday – affirming the necessity of U.S. military action while acknowledging that the strikes have not stopped the Houthis thus far.
Meanwhile, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called it “a great honor” to be “in direct confrontation” with the United States and Israel. This statement indicated that the Iranian-backed militant group would not back off from its aggressive position easily. It seems that a direct conflict with the United States is exactly what the Houthis aim for. Perhaps, a war with the West would please its benefactors in Tehran. As for now, Al-Houthi has shown no intention to bring an end to the conflict in the Red Sea.