The United States is negotiating with allies to create a maritime alliance to protect ships passing through the Red Sea to curb the increasing attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Iran, which supports the Houthi rebels, has criticized the plan as "stupid."
Yemen's Houthi rebels hovered above the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 20.
Recently, there have been frequent ship attacks in the Red Sea, posing a serious threat to commercial vessels. U.S. adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that Washington was in talks with other countries to form a maritime task force to ensure safe passage of ships in the Red Sea, but did not provide further details.
In an interview with Reuters in Doha this week, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said the United States was seeking to build the broadest possible multinational maritime alliance.
He noted that this would send an important signal to the Houthi rebels that the international community would not tolerate it threatening international shipping. "Washington is very aggressively assessing what steps must be taken to de-escalate the Houthi situation. ”
Lundkin revealed that the U.S. goal is to expand the existing Joint Task Force 153 into "an international coalition that devotes some resources to protecting freedom of navigation," but declined to say which countries the U.S. has been in contact with on the matter. The international maritime task force operates in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and is commanded by Vice Admiral of the 39-nation U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the threat posed by the Houthi rebels to maritime security last week with a meeting with the great powers of the East. The Eastern Powers are not members of the Joint Task Force 153, but are significant users of the Red Sea shipping routes and have influence over Iran, which supports the Houthi rebels.