According to reports from U.K. media, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom are reportedly preparing to carry out strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen after weeks of attacks on commercial shipping vessels transiting the Red Sea interrupted global supply chains and threatened the lives of U.S. troops in the region.
According to The Times, Prime Minister "Rishi Sunak has authorised British airstrikes against Houthi military positions in Yemen to repel attacks by the Iran-backed rebels on shipping in the Red Sea," with the UK "expected to join the US and other allies in carrying out the mission imminently."
Britain expected to join US in carrying airstrikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen **tonight**
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) January 11, 2024
Rishi Sunak briefed Cabinet on imminent military intervention this evening
Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader, and Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, have also been briefed
Following the strikes, President Joe Biden — despite not having anything on his schedule at this time — is "expected to make a statement tonight in the wake of" the strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, according to The Times' political editor Steven Swinford.
BREAKING:
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) January 11, 2024
Joe Biden, the US President, is expected to make a statement tonight in the wake of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen
The strikes are expected shortly, with a series of carefully choreographed statements from the US, the UK and other international…
But there's a big question at play, as noted by Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD):
Why is the UK leaking on strikes before they occur? Seems unwise and unserious.
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) January 11, 2024
If the strikes predicted by British outlets take place, it will mark — at long last — some action from the U.S.-led coalition that was set up to protect vessels in the region and ensure freedom of navigation is upheld, an effort that has not succeeded in allowing ships to safely transit or deter attacks by the Houthis. Whether the anticipated strikes, if they happen, go far enough to dissuade continued Houthi attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea will remain to be seen.
The reportedly imminent U.S. and U.K. strikes come after U.S. Central Command reported the 27th attack by Houthis on commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden amid a significant escalation in the Iran-backed proxies' attacks that have expanded to include anti-ship ballistic missiles in addition to kamikaze drones and small boats.
US CENTCOM Statement on 27th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 11, 2024
On Jan. 11 at approximately 2 a.m. (Sanaa time), the Iranian-backed Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen into international shipping lanes in… pic.twitter.com/MDdjM1yCpV
In recent days, the White House has sought to reiterate a stern, supposedly final warning from the United States and its coalition partners that the Iran-backed Houthis must stop their attacks, though no specific threat of strikes was included in the most recent statement that cautioned "consequences" would follow continued attacks.
Another day, another “strong condemnation” from the White House about Iran, which just seized a ship in the Gulf of Oman after months of Houthi attacks on U.S. troops.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 11, 2024