by Francesco Matera
Yemen's Houthi rebels continue to threaten the Red Sea with their attacks on foreign cargo ships, winking at Russian and Chinese companies. A US destroyer, the USS Carney, shot down a ballistic missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen on Friday, the Pentagon said, highlighting it was the second time the group had targeted one of its naval vessels. . The week before, the United States had attacked a position dedicated to launching an anti-ship missile in Yemeni territory.
The Houthis have so far emerged victorious from this particular campaign in defense of the Palestinian people: they announced that they would interrupt the attacks only with Gaza and Hamas free from Israel's attacks.
The attacks in the Red Sea have also helped the Houthis distract the international community from their alleged human rights abuses in pursuit of their stated goal of occupying territory beyond Yemen's borders to control the Arabian Peninsula. The Houthis, linked to the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam, have been fighting Yemen's internationally recognized government, supported by Saudi Arabia, for more than a decade. The rebels control much of northwestern Yemen, including the capital, Sana'a, and lands bordering the Red Sea and on the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
The United States and its allies were forced to respond, first by trying to form a coalition (Prosperity Guardian) to protect maritime traffic and then by launching air strikes (US and UK) that targeted the Houthis' radars, air defense and launch sites. The US-led strikes have so far failed to deter the Houthis or significantly degrade their military capabilities, according to military analysts. The confrontation with the United States has transformed the Red Sea into a new international critical point which adds to the "hot" areas of the globe. The National Security Advisor of the United States, Jake sullivan, met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this weekend to discuss the Houthi attacks, while the Houthis recently sent a delegation to Moscow to talk about the war in Gaza.
During the meeting, Sullivan urged Beijing to use its considerable influence with Iran to cut off Tehran's support for the Houthis. The Houthis, in fact, receive weapons, training and intelligence from Shiite-led Iran but deny receiving orders from Tehran which, in response to the accusations, confirms that it does not control the group.
Western political and military analysts say, however, that Iran and the Houthis often coordinate their actions.
To date, in the Middle Eastern panorama, the Houthis have risen to the top among the groups affiliated with Iran in the resistance against the Axis of Evil, which they identify in the countries of the Western world led by the USA and Israel.
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