The Pentagon said on Thursday that the Houthi attack on international shipping in the Red Sea could be "greedy and chewy", a day before the leader of the Yemeni armed group threatened to attack the U.S. ship.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin this week announced the creation of a new international maritime task force, called Operation Prosperity Guardian, to focus on attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, Houthi leader Abdelmalik Houthi warned that the group would attack U.S. ships if the militia was attacked by Washington.
"Any U.S. attack against our country will be our target, and we will make U.S. warships, interests, and voyages the targets of our missiles, drones, and military operations," Mr. Houthi said. ”
The newly recruited popular army of the Houthis marched during a march in Yemen's Amran province, where Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the alliance was defensive in nature and focused on ensuring shipping safety.
The Houthis need to stop these attacks, and they need to stop them now — it's clear and simple," he told reporters.
They do need to ask themselves if they have run out of money when it comes to competing with the international community as a whole and causing billions of dollars of negative impact on the world, economic prosperity and international law. ”
Maj. Gen. Ryder said there had been no new attacks by the Houthis since the task force was set up on Monday, which he hoped would serve as a deterrent.
Since last month, the Houthis have fired drones and missiles at international ships crossing the Red Sea, allegedly in response to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Hans Jacob Schindler, director of the counter-extremism program, said the attacks were unlikely to stop anytime soon.
He told The National: They don't care who owns the ships, they just need to let the attack cause a diversion and disrupt the transport routes to Israel. ”
If this continues, it risks escalating and leading to U.S. air strikes. ”
Jacob Schindler**, the task force will eventually attack the ** hideout of the Houthis in Yemen. The military also recommended attacking Houthi missile launchers.
I really don't see a good solution, but what is more likely to happen is that someone intervenes and deprives the Houthis of the ability to use it for military strikes – that's the only way," he said.
The Houthi attacks disrupted an important ** route connecting Europe, North America and Asia via the Suez Canal and led to a sharp rise in the cost of container shipping as businesses sought to transport goods via alternative, often longer, routes.
In particular, container shipping companies continue to suspend sailing through the Red Sea in favor of routes around Africa, which increases sailing times and increases costs.
This, in turn, has raised concerns about delivery delays and ***, which could trigger a new round of global inflation.
A representative of the German shipping company said: "We will continue to change the routes of all vessels as planned until December 31. Then we will reassess the situation and make a decision. ”