The United States carried out new attacks on the Houthis in Yemen on Friday, saying it was acting in “self-defense” in the face of repeated attacks by Yemeni rebels against merchant ships in a maritime area crucial to world trade.
Washington seeks to reduce the military capabilities of the Iran-backed Houthis, but after a week of intensive attacks they still pose a threat and have vowed to continue targeting merchant ships in Iran’s Red Sea and Gulf.
Yemeni rebels, who say they targeted “Israel-linked” ships in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, had previously claimed attacks on an American merchant ship sailing in the Gulf of Aden.
This latest attack on the movement, however, did not cause any damage, according to Washington.
The US military “conducted three successful defensive strikes” on Friday targeting missile launchers poised to strike in the Red Sea, White House spokesman John Kirby said.
“These actions were taken in self-defense, but they also help make international waters safer for warships and merchant vessels,” he said.
The Americans and British, supported by a small group of countries, first struck the Houthis in Yemen on January 12, targeting radar and missile infrastructure and drones, more than thirty sites in total.
Since then, the United States has carried out a number of other attacks, particularly against missile launchers.
Attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have forced many shipowners to suspend passage on this essential transit route which accounts for up to 12% of global trade.
– Regional Conflagration –
At the same time, the United States seeks to exert diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, having once again labeled them a “terrorist” entity.
The fine will come into force on February 16.
The group was included by President Donald Trump, towards the end of his mandate, on this list of “foreign terrorist organizations”, which prohibits any exchange with the entities concerned.
But the Biden administration withdrew them in 2021, right at the start of his term, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Yemen is the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, ravaged by nearly a decade of conflict that has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Yemen is just one element of a larger crisis in the Middle East, raising fears of a regional conflagration in the fourth month of Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel that left 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
Around 250 people were abducted and taken to Gaza, with around 100 released during a truce in late November.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, 24,762 people, the vast majority of them women, children and adolescents, have been killed and 62,108 injured in Israeli operations.
– Around Iran –
The conflict, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, is exacerbating tensions between Israel, supported militarily by the United States, and the “axis of resistance” which brings together various movements such as Hamas, the Houthis and the Lebanese Hezbollah around Iran .
The Israeli army said it struck the headquarters of the Islamic movement Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Friday, where at least three houses were destroyed, according to the official Lebanese news agency ANI. Hezbollah claimed three attacks on Israeli territory.
Additionally, groups close to Iran have carried out attacks against American troops in Iraq and Syria, prompting a US response.
Iran and Pakistan, for their part, have experienced renewed tension this week with deadly attacks on both sides. However, the two countries agreed on Friday to “ease tension.”
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2024-01-19 22:20:36
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