The promised multinational force to secure Red Sea shipping against attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen was rolled out on Monday.
After U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a ten-member coalition for “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” the Houthis vowed to continue attacking “even if America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world.”
Austin’s announcement came after a weekend when oil giant BP and shipping heavyweight Evergreen Line said they were suspending traffic through the Red Sea.
The two massive corporations joined a growing list of shippers who said it was no longer safe to use the Red Sea, Bab El Mandeb Strait, and Suez Canal due to Houthi attacks. Avoiding that route would increase shipping time between Asia and northern Europe by about 30 percent, with a commensurate increase in costs. About 12 percent of the world’s shipping traffic passes through the area threatened by the Houthis.
Houthi forces board the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center via AP)
According to Austin, Operation Prosperity Guardian will include vessels from the United States, United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain.
The U.K. said its warship HMS Diamond, which has already shot down Houthi drones over the Red Sea, and the frigate HMS Lancaster will be part of the effort.
Austin said the operation is an “important new multinational security initiative” in response to an “international challenge that demands collective action”:
Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his country has “always stepped up to protect free trade.”
“These are Iran-backed rebels, and we know that Iran is actively seeking to undermine stability in the region,” Sunak’s office said. “We are clear-eyed about that, and that’s why we are acting alongside our allies to provide the necessary deterrence to protect commercial shipping.”
Houthi forces board the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center via AP)
A defense official told the Associated Press on Tuesday that “several other countries have also agreed to be involved in the operation but prefer not to be publicly named.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield wrote a letter to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, asking members to take action against the Houthis. According to the Associated Press, the UNSC discussed the matter “behind closed doors” on Monday but “took no immediate action.”
The U.K. Guardian noted the significant absence of Saudi Arabia and Egypt from the Operation Prosperity Guardian roster and saw no “immediate impact” from Austin’s announcement on either nervous shipping companies or the Houthis.
“The Houthis will carry on; they love attention, and they have a wide degree of support in the Arab world,” Chatham House analyst Farea al-Muslimi told the Guardian.
“So far, nobody has died as a result of the Houthi attacks,” al-Muslimi added. “If somebody is killed, then there will likely have to be a response.”
The Houthis, a jihadi organization that calls itself Ansar Allah (“Army of Allah”) and was classified as a terrorist group until President Joe Biden lifted that designation in 2021, vowed to continue its attacks on shipping until “Israel’s crimes in Gaza stop, and food, medicines, and fuel are allowed to reach its besieged population.”
“Even if America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world, our military operations will not stop … no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” said senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Burkhaiti.
“Any escalation in Gaza is an escalation in the Red Sea,” said Houthi Maj. General Yusuf al-Madani. “Any country or party that comes between us and Palestine, we will confront it.”
Another Houthi official, senior negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam, bizarrely insisted Operation Prosperity Guardian is “essentially unnecessary” because the waters near Yemen are safe for ships that are not linked to, or bound for, Israel.
The Houthis have attacked several vessels that do not meet those qualifications, and in any event, they have no authority to deny Red Sea passage to Israeli ships.
