Houthis Vow To Keep Up Attacks After US Unveils Details Of Ten-Nation Naval Force

Houthi attacks out of Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and vital Bab al-Mandab Strait has become daily, resulting in the Pentagon unveiling a multi-nation naval task force to thwart the ongoing missile and drone assaults. But the Houthis say they’ll remain undeterred in operations meant as retaliation for the Gaza war, vowing to keep up the attacks.

“The American-formed coalition is to protect Israel and militarize the sea without any justification, and will not stop Yemen from continuing its legitimate operations in support of Gaza,” wrote Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam on X.

“Whoever seeks to expand the conflict must bear the consequences of his actions,” Abdel-Salam said, but noted these operations are not meant to directly challenge external powers outside the region.

The Houthis starting weeks ago declared war on any ship headed to Israeli ports or that’s linked to the country; however, a number of vessels have been targeted which apparently have no connection.

Abdel-Salam further stated that neutral Oman is currently engaged mediation efforts to safeguard Red Sea shipping. Interestingly, there doesn’t currently seem to be much in the way of Western efforts to engage Tehran, which is arguably the power with most direct sway over the Shia Houthi rebels.

There’s a growing list of major shipping and container companies which have temporarily halted transit through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea:

• Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company
• France’s CMA CGM
• Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd
• Belgium’s Euronav
• oil giant BP
• Denmark’s A.P Moller-Maersk
• Taiwan shipping firm Evergreen
• Norway-based Frontline

A couple of these represent the bulk of traffic, for example Maersk accounts for 15 percent of global container freight and Frontline is among the world’s largest shipping companies. At this point we might say, who hasn’t halted operations in these ultra high risk waters at this point, as insurance premiums and risk related costs rise.

On Monday US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian – a new “multinational security initiative” involving the navies of ten coalition nations which will patrol the Red Sea. “Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” Austin said while on a trip to Israel.

BREAKING: NETANYAHU WARNS BIDEN IF HE DOESN’T TAKE ACTION AGAINST YEMENI HOUTHIS ISRAEL WILL WAGE WAR AGAINST THEM pic.twitter.com/fREocdttkF

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) December 18, 2023

The US defense chief identified the countries which will make up the coalition as follows:

Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.

“The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade,” Austin had emphasized. Given that US and UK warships have already intercepted drones and inbound rockets, there’s a high likelihood that these allied nations will see military action in the tense waterway.