A tense face-to-face confrontation pits Yemeni rebels supported by Iran and the multinational maritime protection force led by the United States in the Red Sea. Monday 1er January, Iran deployed the warship to the area Alborz, the day after a deadly confrontation between the American army and the Houthis. The deployment complicates Washington’s efforts to stop Houthi attacks on merchant ships in this global maritime crossroads. If American President Joe Biden does not rule out direct strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, according to American media, he has so far favored deterrence in order to avoid a regional spread of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The deployment, in mid-December 2023, of the multinational naval force did not put an end to the attacks. Since the start of the war on October 7 between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen, have increased attacks against ships they consider “linked to Israel”, in solidarity with the Palestinian territory. According to the Pentagon, they launched more than a hundred drone and missile attacks, targeting ten merchant ships. Since November they have held the Galaxy Leader and its 25 crew members. As a result, shipping giants suspended the passage of their ships through the Red Sea, a strategic route through which 12% of world trade passes.
On December 31, 2023, the first deadly clashes took place with the American army in the Red Sea. The American military command for the Middle East (Centcom) announced that it had sunk three rebel ships, after attacks on a container ship of the Danish carrier Maersk, off the coast of Hodeidah. Ten Houthi rebels were killed in the strike, according to their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree. During this relief operation, the American destroyer USS Gravely shot down two ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory “towards the ships” American military, Centcom added.
A dilemma for the Biden administration
“The American enemy assumes the consequences of this crime”denounced the Houthi rebels in a press release, and “its military movements in the Red Sea to protect Israeli ships will not prevent” the Houthis of“perform their religious, moral and humanitarian duty in support of those who have been wronged in Palestine and Gaza”. The Danish maritime transport giant Maersk announced that it would suspend the transit of its fleet in the Red Sea for forty-eight hours. Its ships had just returned to the area, as had those of the French shipowner CMA CGM.
You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.