Michael R. Gordon, Gordon Lubold, and Nancy A. Youssef of The Wall Street Journal are reporting that the American military is readying options to strike the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in response to its attacks on ships in the Red Sea. They write:
The U.S., Britain and key allies issued what officials described as a final warning to the Houthi Yemeni rebel group Wednesday to cease its attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea or bear the consequences.
“Ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing,” says the statement issued by more than a dozen nations. “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.”
The U.S. military has prepared options to strike the Iran-backed rebel group, U.S. officials say.
“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.”https://t.co/deS2Em4a9z via @whitehouse pic.twitter.com/7I9oRbjlrR
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 3, 2024
Should the U.S., Britain and other nations use force, potential targets could include launchers for antiship missiles and drones, targeting infrastructure such as coastal radar installations, and storage facilities for munitions. Among the challenges to striking Houthi targets is that many of their weapons systems are mobile, the officials said. […]
“The Houthis appeared to be striking maritime targets given that they have failed to strike Israel on land,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank that has highlighted the threat it says Iran poses to the U.S. and its allies. “Iran is using the Houthis to generate economic costs that it hopes will pressure Washington to wind down Jerusalem’s war against Hamas.”
Read more here.