US joins 10-nation pact after a series of drone attacks in Red Sea

The Pentagon announced the US is joining forces in a 10-nation military pact to try and counter terror threats in the Red Sea after a series of drone and missile strikes on commercial vessels. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the pact – which also includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain – early Tuesday in Bahrain.

Ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The group has said the attacks are in response to the Hamas-Israel war. The seriousness of the attacks, several of which have damaged the vessels, has led multiple shipping companies to order their ships to hold in place and not enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the security situation can be addressed.

The US military’s Central Command reported two more attacks on commercial vessels Monday. The strikes have been making headlines since an American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea in early December. The Houthi, which rules much of Yemen, says its attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians and has vowed they will continue until Israel stops its offensive on the Gaza Strip – more than 1,000 miles from the Houthi seat of power in Sanaa.

Houthi rebels have been launching a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea – as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel as it wages war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

The Yemeni rebels were officially recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States under the Trump administration – until Biden removed the militants from the list in 2021. In October, the Pentagon confirmed that Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney – stationed in the waters between Africa and Asia – was under attack.

In late November, Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles at a US Navy destroyer off the coast of Yemen in a ‘significant escalation’ with American forces. Last week, a Norwegian-flagged tanker was hit by a cruise missile launched by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea in their latest attack on ships to protest against Israel ‘s bombardment of Gaza. US military Central Command said the anti-tank cruise missile, launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, hit the Strinda and the destroyer USS Mason was providing assistance.

Now, the collation will look to protect ships in the Red Sea and deter further attacks. ‘This is an international challenge that demands collective action,’ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in statement released just after midnight in Bahrain. ‘Therefore today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative.’ Some of the countries will conduct joint patrols while others provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Several other countries have also agreed to be involved in the operation but prefer not to be publicly named, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity. The mission will be coordinated by the already existing Combined Task Force 153, which was set up in April 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. 

There have been 39 member nations in CTF 153, but officials were working to determine which of them would participate in this latest effort. Separately, the United States has also called on the United Nations Security Council to take action against the attacks.

In a letter to council members, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Houthi attacks targeting commercial vessels legally transiting the international waterways continue to threaten ‘navigational rights and freedoms, international maritime security, and international commerce.’ The 15 council members discussed the Houthi threat behind closed doors Monday but took no immediate action. To date, the U.S. has not struck back at the Iranian-back Houthis operating in Yemen or targeted any of the militants´ weapons or other sites.

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