US delivers ‘private message’ to Iran after Yemen strikes
President Biden has stated that the US has conveyed a “private message” to Iran regarding the Houthi situation in Yemen, following a second strike by the US on the group.
Without providing further details, he expressed confidence in the preparedness of the message delivery.
The recent US strike, described as a “follow-on action,” targeted radar, with Iran denying any involvement in Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Although Tehran is suspected of supplying weapons to the Houthis, the US asserts that Iranian intelligence plays a crucial role in enabling them to target ships.
Joint airstrikes involving the UK and the US, supported by allies such as Australia and Canada, targeted nearly 30 Houthi positions. The US Central Command later announced a strike on a Houthi radar site in Yemen, utilizing Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
A Houthi spokesman informed Reuters that the strikes had minimal impact on the group’s ability to affect shipping. The Houthis, an armed group from Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, control significant areas, including Sanaa, the north of Yemen, and the Red Sea coastline.
While Western governments emphasize that the airstrikes on Houthi targets are distinct from the Gaza conflict, viewing them as a necessary response to unprovoked attacks on commercial shipping, perspectives in Yemen and the broader Arab world differ.
Some perceive the US and UK actions as aligning with Israel in the Gaza war, given the Houthis’ declaration of solidarity with Hamas and Gaza residents.
There’s even a theory suggesting that “the West is doing Netanyahu’s bidding.”
The impact of these airstrikes on the Houthis remains uncertain, with potential short-term degradation of their capacity to attack ships.
However, there’s a growing concern that prolonged airstrikes could entangle the US and UK in another conflict in Yemen.
It has taken the Saudis more than eight years to extricate themselves from there after it intervened in the country’s civil war – and the Houthis are now more entrenched than ever.
About 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, the US says. This includes 8% of global grain, 12% of seaborne oil, and 8% of the world’s liquified natural gas.
The US says the group has so far attempted to attack and harass vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden 28 times.
Some major shipping companies have since ceased operations in the region, while insurance costs have risen 10 times since early December.
London and Washington have backed Israel following the 7 October attacks by Hamas in which about 1,300 people were killed and some 240 were taken hostage.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign of air strikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza has killed 23,843 Palestinians so far, according to the Hamas-run health ministry on Saturday, with thousands more believed dead under the rubble.
