A naval coalition to “protect shipping in the Red Sea comes as two ships were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi territory on Friday.”
As America tries to form the “‘broadest possible’ maritime coalition” to protect the Suez Canal route which sees about six million barrels pass through each day, mainly en route to Europe, it is notable that only one Muslim country has joined: Bahrain. “Notable absentees were Arab nations Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” likely because they do not want to be viewed as siding with Israel and America.
Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Houthis are talking tough against the maritime coalition, threatening that “the Red Sea will be your graveyard.” The emboldening of the Houthis follows a threat by Iran days ago that any such coalition would face “extraordinary problems.”
Although Iran has not formally entered the intensifying war being waged by Israel against Hamas, it is battling on the sidelines, given its support for Yemen’s Houthis and its funding of Hamas (whose military wing saw a significant increase in 2023), Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hizballah (an ever-present threat of full-scale war with Israel).
“US announces naval coalition to defend Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks | US military,” by Dan Sabbagh, Guardian, December 19, 2023:
The US has announced the creation of an enhanced naval protection force operating in the southern Red Sea in an attempt to ward off mounting attacks from Yemen’s rebel Houthis on merchant shipping.
Britain said it would be among the countries participating but notable absentees were Arab nations Egypt and Saudi Arabia while analysts speculated that shipping would continue to be disrupted and attacks continue.
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said the new effort would be called Operation Prosperity Guardian and was necessary to tackle the “recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen”.
Other participants in the effort, Austin said, included Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.
But it was not clear it had any immediate impact on securing the strategic waterway, through which an estimated 50 merchant ships normally pass each day, heading to and from the Suez canal, often transiting between Asia and Europe….
Homer Bedloe says
We don’t need no stinking coalition. Carpet bomb Sanaa and help the Houthi rebels and their supporters realize that there is a price to pay for their military aggression. Too bad we have Mortimer Snerd in the White House instead of a sane President.