A few days ago, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is visiting Bahrain, where the US Fleet in the Middle East is located, announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea, which will bring together the militaries of several countries to protect civilian ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthis and ensure the safety of navigation in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In order to deal with the Houthis in Yemen, the US military has gathered 10 countries, including the United States, to form a joint maritime force, and the United States will play a leading role in the joint maritime force. The other nine countries are the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Bahrain and the Seychelles, which will also send troops to participate in the mission, conducting joint patrols with U.S. forces in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
On December 22, Russia's Sputnik news network reported that Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder announced that more than 20 countries have joined the U.S.-led coalition and that coalition forces will patrol the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to protect Red Sea navigation from Yemen's Houthi attacks.
In fact, the United States has already announced a strike on the Houthis, noting that the targets are mainly air defense systems, the report argues. A U.S. Department of Defense a** said"The United States is considering various options for launching attacks against the Houthis, including targeting radar facilities. ”
The United States gathered 20 countries to form a joint force to fight the Houthis, mainly because after the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Houthis announced that they would use drones and missiles to attack all cargo ships linked to Israel, including international cargo ships destined for Israel, to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Since December 4, at least nine merchant ships have been attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the southern part of the Red Sea. Since 19 November, 55 ships have been diverted through the Cape of Good Hope route. World-renowned shipping companies such as the French shipping group CMA-CGM, the Belgian oil company, the Norwegian tanker group Frontline, the German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, the South Korean container shipping company HMM, and the Danish company Maersk have announced that cargo ships will stop sailing from the Red Sea.
At present, the US military has sent the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group to the coast of Yemen, and the US Navy's guided-missile destroyers USS Carney and USS Mason, the British destroyer USS Diamond, and the French Navy's frigate USS Languedoc are already preparing for war in the Red Sea.
What the United States has done has cast war clouds in the Red Sea, especially in Yemen, and has aroused widespread concern. Konstantin Sivkov, a doctor of military science from Russia, told the Russian Sputnik news agency that the military operation of the US-led coalition in the Red Sea will lead to the expansion of the conflict zone in Yemen, the Houthis will begin to act more toughly, and US bases may be attacked. Hassan Unal, a professor of political science and international relations at Baskent University in Ankara, noted that the United States' attempt to "disrupt" Yemen "will essentially open a Pandora's box." Badr Saf, the founding president of Al-Saif Consulting and an assistant professor at Kuwait University, warned that if the United States "escalates its strikes against the Houthis now, it will lead to a new wave of expansion of war in Yemen."
In response to the formation of coalition forces by the United States, the Houthis said that although the United States has formed a coalition force, they "will not stop" military operations in the Red Sea, and the Houthis will retaliate for all actions taken by the United States against Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saaria also put aside harsh words, saying that any offensive actions by the United States will be retaliated against, and that the United States will be responsible for all regional and international provocations, escalations or aggression in the Red Sea.
In an interview with the Iranian Arabic channel Al Alam, the Houthis said that they would attack the countries of the League of Nations, and that any ships of any country that opposed us would be attacked in the Red Sea. He said the Houthis have enough military potential to counter the coalition forces.
Moreover, as the United States said, behind the Houthis there is still a big man Iran, once the United States-led 20-nation coalition forces take the opportunity to militarily attack the Houthis, Iran will certainly not sit idly by, and a new wave of war is destined to sweep the Middle East.