A U.S.** said on Wednesday (January 31) evening that the U.S. military destroyed as many as 10 drones in Yemen that were ready to be launched. Separately, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney shot down three Iranian drones and a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden.
This is the first time that the U.S. has announced action against Iranian assets since the Houthi attack on a merchant ship in November last year. Tensions over the war in Gaza are spreading across the region.
The U.S. military did not specify whether the Iranian drone shot down by the USS Carney was designed for attack or surveillance.
Three U.S. troops were killed and 34 U.S. troops injured in a drone attack by Iranian-backed militants on Sunday (January 28) on a U.S. military base in the Jordanian-Syrian border area. Joe Biden vowed to respond to the incident.
In recent weeks, Iranian-aligned Houthis have fired drones and missiles at merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians.
The actions of the Houthis have disrupted international shipping. Despite U.S. strikes against the Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups, the U.S. and Iran have been trying to avoid direct confrontation, and the downing of an Iranian drone could escalate tensions.
The U.S. USS Gr**ely also destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that the command said posed "an imminent threat to U.S. aircraft." This is different from past air strikes to reduce the insurgents' threat to international shipping capabilities.
The Houthis claim that they plan to continue their attacks on American merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden.
Ambrey, a British maritime security company, said on Thursday that a merchant ship was hit by a missile and hit its starboard side while sailing southwest of Aden, Yemen, and the missile is known to have been fired from Yemen's Taiz province.
The U.S. also announced on Wednesday that the U.S. military had destroyed a Houthi drone ground control station and 10 drones in Yemen. The U.S. military command also confirmed that the U.S. destroyer USS Carney successfully shot down a Houthi ballistic missile, and later engaged three Iranian drones and shot them down.
Houthi attacks on ships in and around the Red Sea have disrupted Europe and Asia, raised fears of bottlenecks, and raised fears among major powers that the war in Gaza could expand into a regional conflict.
The Pentagon said Tuesday that the Houthis have carried out more than 30 attacks on commercial shipping and sea vessels since Nov. 19.
Joe Biden said earlier in January that strikes on Houthi targets would continue. In addition to military action, the United States has also sought to exert diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, which the United States redesignated as a terrorist organization in early January.
But Houthi attacks continue.
Hamas militants launched a raid on southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people, followed by massive Israeli retaliation against Gaza. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, nearly 27,000 people have been killed. This has led to growing anger in the Middle East over Israel's military operations, which in turn has led to violence.