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The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on January 20 that it had struck an anti-ship missile in Yemen that the Houthis (Ansar Allah) were preparing to launch in the direction of the Gulf of Aden.
“U.S. forces determined the missile presented a threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region, and subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense,” the command said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
CENTCOM alleged that its strike “will make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.”
This was the U.S. seventh strike against the Houthis this week. The strike was not reported by the Yemeni Al-Masirah TV, which is linked to the group.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, began attacking merchant ships in November, saying they were responding to the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Since then, the group has launched dozens of attacks on Israel-affiliated ships passing through the Red Sea.
The U.S. and its allies, including the United Kingdom, formed a naval coalition and began launching strikes on Yemen in response.
However, the Houthis remain undeterred. According to a recent report by The Washington Post, the U.S. is now preparing for a sustained military campaign against the group.
Officials in the administration of President Joe Biden told the publication that the aim of the planned military campaign is to erode the Houthis’ advanced military capabilities just enough to curtail their ability to target shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden or, at a minimum, to provide a sufficient deterrent so that risk-averse shipping companies will resume sending vessels through the region’s waterways.
The officials didn’t identify no end date or provide an estimate on when this goal could be achieved, thus it is safe to assume that the U.S. may be embarking on yet another years-long war in the Middle East.
