Hours after the head of American diplomacy closed his last tour in the Middle East to prevent the war in Gaza adopt a regional dimensionhis country dusted off the cannons in the Arabian Peninsula to pour more gasoline on the pyre that threatens to burn the region. USA and United Kingdomsupported by four other countries, bombed Yemen with a sea and air attack to punish the Houthi rebels for their hostile actions against merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea. The rain of fire was unleashed without authorization from United Nations for the use of force, but it was justified by both countries as an act in self defense as its fleet was among the ships attacked by the Houthis. The allies of Iran have promised to respond, which predicts weeks of extreme tension in the zone.
The Houthi attacks against thirty commercial ships from several countries, which began on November 18, had put the United States in a dilemma, the country that for decades has assumed the role of guaranteeing the free maritime navigation. Essentially, they urged him to find a definitive ceasefire in Gaza as a condition for stopping attacks from its shores. A full-fledged blackmail for some, a brave gesture by solidarity with the Palestinians for others. The answer came last morning with more than a hundred precision missiles launched from submarines and war fighters.
The White House has preferred to continue like this politically protecting Israel to continue its assault on the Strip to try to pacify the region. All of this hours after the International Court in The Hague began the trial against the Jewish State for an alleged genocide in Gaza, devastated after more than three months of incessant bombings that have killed more than 23,000 people and put its civilian population at risk. brink of famine.
Washington does not rule out new attacks
In a statement, the White House presented the attacks as a necessary response to the Houthi attacks at the gates of the Suez Canal, where about 15% of world trade sails. “These attacks have endangered the US armed forces and civilian sailors, they have endangered the trade and have threatened freedom of navigation,” said the president Joe Biden. “I will not hesitate to order further measures to protect our people and the free movement of international trade if they are necessary.” Although it was American and British forces that led the operation, the attack also had logistical support from Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Bahrain.
He Spanish government reaffirmed that will not intervene militarily in the region to support the coalition led by the two Anglo-Saxon powers. “Each country has to explain its actions. Spain will always be committed to peace and dialogue,” stated the Minister of Defense, Margaret Robles. Madrid had already renounced participating in the Guardian of Prosperity mission which has been patrolling the area since the beginning of December and this Friday ruled out participating in the eventual European naval mission proposed by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell. This same Tuesday, the naval forces of the United States and Great Britain had repelled the latest Houthi attack there with drones and missiles against several container merchants.
Oil price increase
But this time it has been different and, for the first time, they have chosen to bomb Yemeni territory. Anglo-American missiles They attacked 60 targets in 16 locations different from the country. From weapons depots, to missile launch platforms, air defenses or radars, according to the US Air Force. An action presented from London as “limited, necessary, proportional and in self defense“, in the words of its prime minister, Rishi Sunak. For now, it has made the oil price increased by nearly 3%, after several oil tankers had to circumvent the area of hostilities.
Yemen – one of the poorest in the world – emerges from almost a decade of warlaunched after Iran-backed Houthi militias ousted the legitimate Iran-backed government from power in Sana’a Saudi Arabia in 2014, prompting Riyadh to go to war against the Houthis with support from Washington. Last year the parties signed a fragile ceasefire.
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Hours after the attack, the pro-Iran militia stated that they will respond to the bombings on their territory. “We will face the american aggression“said their leader Abdul-Malik al-Huti. All parties are playing with fire, even though from the beginning October 7when Hamas launched this latest war with its terrorist attack in the south of Israel, the different regional fronts have not gone beyond a situation of low intensity conflict. Nobody seems interested in a total warwhich does not mean that any miscalculation I can untie her.
The Anglo-American action provoked criticism from some countries, which accused both capitals of violate international law. “The US attacks on Yemen are another example of the perversion of UN Security Council resolutions,” said the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. Russia, another country with notable disdain for international law. Just a day earlier, that same body passed a resolution demanding the Houthis stop the attacks. What he did not do was authorize the use of force to achieve it.