A leader of the Houthis, a rebel faction in Yemen, said the group will not be deterred from attacking commercial vessels in Middle Eastern waters by a new U.S.-led coalition to protect them.
“Our war is a moral war, and therefore, no matter how many alliances America mobilizes, our military operations will not stop,” Mohammed Albukhaiti, a member of the organization’s ruling council, told the Washington Post.
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The Houthis, in recent weeks, have launched more than 100 one-way drones and ballistic missile attacks targeting 10 merchant vessels. In one particular incident on Nov. 19, they took the international crew, 25 people, on the merchant vessel Galaxy Leader hostage, and they remain in Yemen. They have said they're conducting these attacks in response to Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas.
“Participating in a coalition to protect the perpetrators of genocidal crimes is a disgrace in the history of the participating countries,” he added. “If America had moved in the right direction, it would have obliged Israel to stop its crimes without the need to expand the scope of the conflict.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with counterparts from more than 40 countries on Tuesday to discuss the Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in Middle Eastern waterways.
The secretary met virtually with the defense leaders from 43 countries, the European Union, and NATO, where he “underscored that attacks had already impacted the global economy and would continue to threaten commercial shipping if the international community did not come together to address the issue collectively,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a readout of the call.
A day earlier, Austin announced a coalition of willing countries to protect merchant vessels, dubbed “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” which will fall under the anti-piracy naval Task Force 153 and will include warships from the United States, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain.
Roughly 10-15% of global trade routinely passes through the Red Sea, Ryder noted, while a handful of shipping companies have recently announced their decision to suspend usage of the vital waterway. Instead, international shipping companies, including oil firm BP, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM Group, are having to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope, which in turn adds weeks to the delivery of those goods.
U.S. Central Command confirmed two more attacks on Monday against ships near the narrow Bab el Mandeb Strait, controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthis. The Cayman Islands-flagged tanker Swan Atlantic was hit by a drone at about 9 a.m. local time and sustained some damage but no injuries, while at around the same time, the cargo ship Clara reported an explosion in the water near their location.
Over the weekend, the USS Carney shot down another 14 drones launched by the Houthis.
Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said last week that such a task force would create "extraordinary problems."
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The U.S. has not responded militarily to the Houthi attacks, which has been criticized by some. The two most recent former commanders of U.S. Central Command have called for a military response, while Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also criticized the announcement of the task force.
“How much longer can we tolerate these attacks without a proper response? What exactly would a task force accomplish?” Wicker said. “The continuing threat posed to American sailors and freedom of navigation could soon lead to a catastrophe unless the Biden administration acts with the resolve that it has so far sorely lacked. … Until the Biden administration takes clear steps toward restoring deterrence, nothing will change in the Red Sea.”