Tensions are rising further in the Red Sea, against the backdrop of the conflict in Gaza. The United States targeted the Houthis for the second day in a row, with new raids directed into Yemen to weaken the military capabilities of the Shiite group that threatens Western cargo and tankers.
The attacks were much smaller in scope than the British raid on nearly 30 targets, and Iran's allied movement reacted dismissively: "No significant damage, we will continue to prevent the traffic of ships" from Israel's friendly countries, he warned.
In the operation conducted by the US Navy in the early hours of Saturday, the destroyer USS Carney hit a Yemeni radar site. An attack "associated with those carried out on January 12 to reduce the Houthis' ability to attack merchant ships," the U.S. military later explained, while the official media of the Tehran-backed militiamen reported a raid on an air base in the capital Sanaa, under their control. Yemeni security sources later reported a further raid on a Houthi missile launch site in the port city of Hodeidah.
The intense bombing of Houthi positions has been justified by Washington and London as a "defensive action" in response to the intensification of the Yemeni armed group's raids against merchant ships in the Red Sea (more than 20 attacks since November), but the response is by no means a prelude to de-escalation. The Houthis, through a spokesman, first minimized the damage, adding that there were no casualties either. And most importantly, they promised a "strong and effective response."
The threat of missiles and drones will continue to target merchant ships in countries that the Houthis call "Israel's allies" in response to the invasion of Gaza.
And to confirm their support for the Palestinian cause, Shiite militias have released a video in which they simulate a raid on an Israeli village and the kidnapping of two Orthodox Jews: a macabre response to the Hamas assault on October 7. The video was relaunched by the public television of the Jewish state, which already has to deal with another armed group in the Iranian galaxy, the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The stages of the escalation in the Middle East The raids by the United States and the United Kingdom on the Houthi bases in Yemen are the latest development in a war that since October 7, the day of the Hamas attacks in Israel, has seen a widening of tensions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Red Sea. (ANSA)
The escalation in the Red Sea has stoked fears of a widening conflict in the region, with Turkey and Saudi Arabia leading the front of those calling for restraint, while the UN Security Council has confirmed the split between the pro- and anti-Israel powers in the Gaza war.
At the UN headquarters, the US called the actions against the Houthis "necessary" and "proportionate", while Russia accused Washington and London of a "blatant aggression" on the territory of Yemen. As for the stone guest of this crisis, Iran, there has been a "condemnation" of the attacks against the Houthis, but nothing more. The ayatollahs' regime, while it has an interest in its allies destabilizing Westerners throughout the region, has so far shown no willingness to enter directly into the conflict.
Although on New Year's Day he deployed a destroyer in the Red Sea. So far, the Houthis' hunt for Western ships has had a significant impact on global trade. Oil prices have risen by up to 4%, while the main shipping companies have diverted traffic around Africa, significantly lengthening travel times compared to the traditional passage through Suez: the volume of containers in transit from the Red Sea since November has dropped by 70%, according to some experts. The EU is also taking action to defend this strategic route. The issue will be at the center of the next Foreign Affairs Council, which will discuss how to strengthen the mission already active in the area, Atalanta, which was created mainly for anti-piracy purposes.
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