United States and British aircraft attacked more than a dozen Houthi positions in Yemen late Thursday in retaliation for ongoing attacks in the Red Sea by the Iranian proxy aimed at paralyzing the shipping lane to support Gaza’s Iranian-backed Hamas terror organization in the war launched against Israel on October 7, 2023.
The final straw was an anti-ship ballistic missile attack on Wednesday, aimed at a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
“At approximately 2 am local time (2300 GMT on Wednesday), the Iranian-backed Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. One commercial vessel reported visually observing the missile impact the water,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on the X social media platform.
Massive explosions were reported in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, and in the provinces of Hodeidah, Sa’ada and Dhamar. Houthi officials blamed “American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen,” for the attacks.
Nasr al-Din Amir, a Houthi official, told The Wall Street Journal, “This is a brutal aggression. They will undoubtedly pay its price and we will not waver in our stance to support the Palestinian people, regardless of the cost.”
Multiple carriers have been forced to reroute their vessels around South Africa to avoid Houthi attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Deliveries of gas, oil, chemical products and various goods and services have been significantly delayed as a result. Nearly 15 percent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8 percent of global grain trade, 12 percent of seaborne-traded oil and 8 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade.
Attack Targeted Yemeni Military Sites
The attacks targeted a military base next to Sana’a airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in the Hajjah governorate, according to witnesses quoted by Reuters.
Houthi terror training facilities, radar systems, drone storage and launch sites, ballistic missile storage and launch sites and cruise missile storage and launch sites used for anti-ship and anti-aircraft attacks were among more than a dozen targets struck by American and British fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles fired from air, surface and sub platforms, a US official told CNN. The USS Florida, a submarine with ballistic missile launch capability, took part in the attack, firing Tomahawk land attack missiles.
Australia, Netherlands, Bahrain and Canada also provided support for the attacks according to Fox News. Houthi operatives had begun evacuating the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in anticipation of the strikes hours earlier, the news outlet reported.
President Joe Biden said in a statement from the White House that he ordered the attacks “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.
“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” the president said.
“More than 50 nations have been affected in 27 attacks on international commercial shipping. Crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy. More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea—which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times. And on January 9, Houthis launched their largest attack to date — directly targeting American ships.”
Biden added that he “will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.” (Full text of the president’s statement follows this report.)
UK Cites ‘Duty to Protect Vessels, Freedom of Navigation’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefed his cabinet, British opposition leader Keir Starmer and the speaker of the House of Commons late Thursday on the impending attack.
UK Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps said in a statement posted on X that four Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft “conducted precision strikes” on two Houthi targets alongside US forces.
“The threat to innocent lives and global trade has become so great that this action was not only necessary, it was our duty to protect vessels & freedom of navigation,” Shapps wrote.
Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told media in a briefing several hours before the strike that Iran “has a role to play” in stopping the “reckless, dangerous and illegal activity” by the Houthis, and said if the Iranian proxy did not heed the warning, “there will be consequences.”
Yemeni Government, Houthis Warn US, UK Will Pay ‘Heavy Price’
Yemen’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al-Azi called the strikes a “large-scale aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines and fighter jets.
The Yemeni official warned that “without a doubt, London and Washington will have to prepare to pay a heavy price.”
Houthi leader Abdul Malek al-Houthi had also warned in a televised speech earlier in the day, “Any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with 20 drones and a number of missiles.”
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Demanding End to Houthi Attacks
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Thursday demanding an end to the attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthis and calling for the release of the Japanese-operated vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader and its 25-member crew hijacked by the Yemeni terrorists on November 19.
The resolution passed in a vote of 11 to four, with abstentions by Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council who have the ability to block a resolution with a veto.
The Houthis have attacked 27 ships since October 8, 2023.
US-led Coalition of 14 Nations Issued Warning
A US-led coalition of 13 nations last week issued what appeared to be a “final warning” to the Iranian proxy group, urging the Houthis to stop their attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
In a joint statement the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom cited the “broad consensus as expressed by 44 countries around the world on December 19, 2023, as well as the statement by the UN Security Council on December 1, 2023,” condemning Houthi attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea.
““Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the coalition said. “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.”
Full Text of Statement from US President Joe Biden
“Today, at my direction, US military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.
These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.
These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.
More than 50 nations have been affected in 27 attacks on international commercial shipping. Crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy. More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea—which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times. And on January 9, Houthis launched their largest attack to date — directly targeting American ships.
The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute.
Last month, the United States launched Operation Prosperity Guardian — a coalition of more than 20 nations committed to defending international shipping and deterring Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. We also joined more than 40 nations in condemning Houthi threats.
Last week, together with 13 allies and partners, we issued an unequivocal warning that Houthi rebels would bear the consequences if their attacks did not cease. And yesterday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding the Houthis end attacks on merchant and commercial vessels.
Today’s defensive action follows this extensive diplomatic campaign and Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels.
These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes. I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.
