The United States announced on Friday that it had destroyed a ballistic missile that was “fired from areas in Yemen controlled by the Houthis,” as those rebels near Iran mount increasing attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Iran. Aden.
• Also read: New Houthi rebel attack on ships off Yemen
• Also read: Attacks in the Red Sea threaten the rescue of a derelict tanker
• Also read: Britain will “continue to restrict” the Houthis’ ability to carry out attacks.
The anti-ship missile headed for the site of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and was destroyed without causing “any injury or damage,” the US military command in the Middle East (Centcom) said.
This new American attack comes after weeks of tension in the Red Sea, a key artery for international trade.
The British maritime safety authority UKMTO had previously reported that two rockets exploded near a ship off southern Yemen on Friday.
“The ship and crew are safe,” UKMTO said, adding that the explosion occurred in the water 60 nautical miles southwest of the city of Aden.
Ambrey, a maritime risk management company, also reported an “explosion” in the same area, about a meter away from a Panama-flagged oil tanker linked to India.
“The vessel had last been loaded in Russia and was heading east,” the company added.
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Since November, Houthi rebels have fired numerous rockets and drones off the coast of Yemen, saying they are targeting Israeli-linked ships in “solidarity” with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an area that has been under attack since the bloody attack on the Islamist movement The Israeli army bombed and besieged Hamas on October 7th.
In response, US forces, sometimes jointly with Britain, have carried out a series of attacks against the Houthis to deter them from continuing to attack merchant ships, but so far without success.
The American attacks were particularly aimed at missile and drone launch sites.
Impact on trade
On Thursday, Washington and London announced sanctions against four senior Houthi officials accused of helping to organize the attacks.
The Houthis control much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against the government that has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
These tensions have led certain shipping companies to stop transiting through the Red Sea, which normally carries up to 12% of global trade, and bypass Africa to reach Asia and Europe.
The impact on maritime transport and global trade is already being felt. According to the United Nations, trade volumes through the Suez Canal, a key passage connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, have fallen 42% in the past two months.
The disruption to trade in the Red Sea is all the more worrying as “more than 80%” of global trade in goods is carried out by sea and “other important routes are already under tension,” emphasizes UNCTAD, the UN agency responsible for trade and development.
On Thursday, a Houthi delegation visited Moscow to discuss the “need for intensified efforts to pressure the United States and Israel” to end the war in Gaza and “provide humanitarian assistance rather than militarize the Red Sea.” said a rebel spokesman, Mohammed Abdelsalam.