Iran-backed Houthis vowed on Thursday to expand their operations beyond the Red Sea to block “Israel-linked ships” sailing through the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.
This is the route many commercial vessels have been forced to take in the past few months, since the Houthis, armed by Iranian missiles and drones, have effectively closed the more common, far shorter path between Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
But now the Houthis seem to have decided to threaten the alternative route too, potentially wreaking havoc to logistics and shipping industries, and causing more price hikes in consumer goods. The idea, they claim, is to stop all ships from or headed to Israel.
Following the announcement, a merchant vessel reported it had been hit by a missile and sustained damage 76 nautical miles west of Yemen's Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and the British security firm Ambrey said on Friday.
"The vessel has sustained some damage. The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the UKMTO said in an advisory note. The US military reported other attacks that failed.
The Houthi announcement coincides with reports that the Biden administration held secret, indirect talks with Iranian officials in the hope that Tehran would use its influence to persuade the Houthis to stop their attacks. Iran has denied this report, however, claiming that talks had been focused only on the nuclear issue.
Whatever the content of the talks, the Houthis don’t seem to be in the mood for de-escalation. More missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to the United States Central Command.
“There were no injuries or damage reported to U.S. or coalition ships,” CENTCOM announced on X, confirming that it had “successfully engaged and destroyed nine anti-ship missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
The US military –sometimes alongside the UK and others– has launched near-daily airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen. But the attacks, instructed by President Biden to “degrade” the Houthis’ capabilities, does not seem to have accomplished its objective, as the disruption of maritime trade continues and Houthi leaders sound as undeterred as they have ever been.
The Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea since November, citing solidarity with Palestinians faced with Israel’s attack on Gaza. They are armed and trained by Iran and began attacking vessels when in November Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Arabs to blockade Israel.
The key, therefore, is to make Iran think twice, many in Washington maintain. But not President Joe Biden and his team, who have already made it clear several times that they have no intention to get into a war with, or even confront, Iran.
But Biden critics say airstrikes on Houthis can only work if it’s coupled with targeting Iranian interests. They point to the sanctions waiver that President Biden renewed this week –which allows Iraq to purchase gas from Iran– as a sign of a “failed” Iran policy that has “emboldened” the regime and its proxies.
“The Biden admin has renewed a sanctions waiver that unlocks $10 BILLION for the Iranian regime,” Senator Marsha Blackburn posted on her X Thursday. “After all Iran has done to fund Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel, we should not be giving them one more cent. Shame on Biden.”