Houthi rebels vow to attack US warships if Red Sea conflict escalates

Iran-backed group’s leader makes threat after US unveiled coalition to stop attacks on cargo vessels

The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has vowed to attack American warships if the conflict in the Red Sea escalates.
On Monday, the United States unveiled an international coalition aimed at stopping attacks by the Iran-backed group, which has caused massive disruption to global shipping.
Joe Biden is weighing up military action against the group, with American, British and French warships now in the waters around Yemen as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
A tenth of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea and shipping companies have begun re-routing around Africa, adding at least 10 days to their route.
In a televised speech on Wednesday, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the rebels’ leader, said that his militants would not stand by if “the Americans are tempted to escalate further and commit foolishness by targeting our country or waging war against it”.
Any American strike would be met fiercely, he said. “We will make American battleships, interests and navigation a target for our missiles, drones and military operations.
“As long as the Americans want to enter into a direct war with us, they should know that we are not those who fear them, and that they are facing an entire people,” he said.
The popularity of the Houthi rebels has grown within Yemen since they pledged to disrupt maritime traffic in response to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.
Mr Al-Houthi said that if the United States sent soldiers to Yemen – something that is not under consideration – they would “face something harsher than what they faced in Afghanistan and what they suffered in Vietnam”.
About 50 merchant ships pass through the Red Sea every day, travelling between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal. At least 15 have been attacked since mid-November.
Operation Prosperity Guardian, which comprises 10 mostly Nato nations, plans to create a “safe corridor” through the Red Sea by shooting down attacks rather than escorting ships, according to reports.
Officials familiar with the plan told the Financial Times that it was at an early stage and could still change.
On Wednesday, shipping companies said that they remained unclear on how their vessels would be protected.
“There are still a number of unknowns with the coalition. We don’t know exactly how many warships will be involved, how long it will take those vessels to get to the region or their rules of engagement and the actual protection scheme that will be put in place,” Corey Ranslem, the chief executive of the British maritime risk advisory and security company Dryad Global, told Reuters.
Another shipping source raised questions about the effectiveness of the coalition, saying: “Will they do anything except swat the missiles out of the sky? If that’s all, then will it give the assurances that are needed for shipping companies? We don’t know yet.”
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, visited the Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, hailing it as a symbol of American deterrence.
The nuclear-powered Gerald R Ford, which houses 4,000 people and eight squadrons of aircraft, rushed closer to Israel after Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks.
Mr Austin has extended the Gerald R Ford’s deployment three times, hoping that its presence would make Iran and groups aligned with its regime think twice before joining the fight.
“This carrier and crew are making history. Sometimes our greatest achievements are the bad things that we stop from happening. And at a moment of huge tensions in the region, you all have been the lynchpin to preventing a wider regional conflict,” he said.
The Pentagon has also moved the Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier to the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen and close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait where the attacks have taken place.