U.S. Attacks on Houthis Increase Tensions in the Red Sea

The United States and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are threatening to escalate tensions in the Red Sea after the Trump administration launched an air offensive to prevent the rebels from attacking military and commercial vessels in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

“We will not let these people decide which ships can pass and which cannot. And so, your question is: how long will this continue? It will continue until they no longer can do so,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview with CBS.

Rubio stated that the offensive goes beyond the occasional retaliatory strikes that the Biden administration carried out after the Houthi attacks in the region. On Saturday, Trump vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the rebels halt their attacks and warned that Iran would be “fully held accountable” for their actions.

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked international vessels in the Red Sea, having already sunk two ships, claiming these are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally.

The attacks ceased when a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was established in January—one day before Trump took office—but last week, the Houthis announced they would resume attacks on Israeli ships after Tel Aviv cut humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, there have been no reports of Houthi attacks since then.

Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health reported that U.S. attacks killed 31 people, including women and children, and injured more than 100 others in the capital, Sanaa, and the northern province of Saada, a rebel stronghold near the Saudi border.

The airstrikes were among the most extensive against the Houthis since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, told ABC that the strikes “actually targeted and eliminated several Houthi leaders.” He did not identify them or provide evidence. Rubio stated that some Houthi facilities had been destroyed.

The Houthis’ political office said the rebels would respond to U.S. attacks and “meet escalation with escalation.” Yesterday, the rebels claimed to have fired missiles and a drone at the USS Harry Truman carrier strike group in the region, but two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, said no such activity had been detected.

Rubio stated that, over the past 18 months, the Houthis have “directly” attacked the U.S. Navy 174 times and targeted commercial ships 145 times using “precision-guided anti-ship weaponry.” The attacks have led to the most serious combat engagements faced by the U.S. Navy since World War II.

Yesterday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard chief, General Hossein Salami, denied that his country was involved in the Houthi attacks, stating that Iran “has no role in setting the national or operational policies” of militant groups its allies within the region, according to state TV.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the U.S. on X (formerly Twitter) to stop the airstrikes and said Washington could not dictate Iran’s foreign policy.

The U.S. and other nations have long accused Iran of providing military aid to the rebels in Yemen. The U.S., Israel, and the U.K. have previously targeted Houthi-controlled areas in the country, but this new operation was carried out solely by the Americans. This was the first strike against the Houthis under Trump’s second administration.

Source: Valor Econômico

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