The USA relies on retaliation and deterrence in the Middle East. Targets at the weekend were militias allied with Iran.
There is great outrage - including in Russia. Iran strongly condemned the attacks by the US and its partners on Houthi positions. “We will respond to escalation with escalation,” said Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the militant Houthi movement. Major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.