Houthis vs the world: A look at US-led resistance against Iran-backed rebels in Red Sea

Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls a large part of Yemen, have pledged their support to Hamas since the latter’s conflict with Israel began on October 7, 2023.

The Houthis have been attacking cargo ships using ballistic missiles as well as drones in the Bab al-Mandab Strait in southern Red Sea in an attempt to disrupt world trade in retaliation to the Israeli attacks in Gaza. Iran, accused of planning these attacks by the US, has denied any involvement.

"The resistance (Houthis) has its own tools of power and acts according to its decisions and capabilities," said Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani regarding the attacks.

These constant attacks have led to shipping firms like Maersk, oil firm BP, Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Hapag-Lloyd diverting their ships away from the Red Sea. Some are taking a detour by going around the southern tip of Africa.

The Houthis are also holding 25 crew members of the Israeli-owned MV Galaxy Leader as prisoners.

In response to the drone attacks on cargo ships, a number of countries have joined forces to patrol the Red Sea. The naval operation, named Operation Prosperity Guardian, is being majorly undertaken by the US, UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Seychelles, Bahrain, Norway, and Spain. The US has however said that a total of 20 countries have agreed to be a part of this defence coalition.

The Seafarers International Union, in its announcement of the operation’s launch, said it will be “under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153”.

Here is what the member nations are saying:

United States:

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on December 19 plans to set up a multinational coalition to safeguard Red Sea shipping called Operation Prosperity Guardian.

During a trip to the Middle East, he said the operations would be joined by Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

On Thursday, December 21, Austin said Greece and Australia had also joined the grouping, taking it to a total of 20, but added that at least eight countries taking part have declined to be publicly named.

France:

France's Defence Ministry said it supported efforts to secure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and surrounding area and said it already operated in the region. But it said its ships would stay under French command and did not say if it would deploy more naval forces.

France has a naval base in the United Arab Emirates and 1,500 troops in Djibouti. Its frigate Languedoc is now in the Red Sea.

Italy:

Italy's Defence Ministry said it would send naval frigate Virginio Fasan to the Red Sea to protect its national interests in response to specific requests made by Italian shipowners.

It said this was part of its existing operations and was not part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Spain:

Spain's Defence Ministry said it would only participate in NATO-led missions or EU-coordinated operations. "We will not participate unilaterally in the Red Sea operation," it said.

Britain:

Britain said destroyer HMS Diamond would join Operation Prosperity Guardian. Britain's defence ministry said the coalition would operate as part of the US-led CMF.

Greece:

Greece said on Thursday it would send a naval frigate to the Red Sea and that it would participate in Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Other countries:

The Netherlands said it would send two staff officers. Meanwhile, Norway said it would send 10 naval officers to Bahrain, the headquarters of CMF. Denmark on Wednesday said that it would take part in the operation, sending one officer.

Shooting down drones

Warships belonging to the member nations of Operation Prosperity Guardian are trying to mitigate these attacks by shooting down drones targetting merchant ships in the southern Red Sea. As the merchant ships are not equipped to deal with these attacks, they usually seek support from warships patrolling in the region. Notably, these warships have also been at times targetted by the Houthis.

“On December 23 two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen,” the US Central Command said in a post on X in reference to attacks on the MV Saibaba and the USS Laboon.

These two attacks were the “14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct. 17,” the post further added.

Challenges the West is facing

US, French and British warships – mainly US destroyers – have brought down dozens of attacking drones. That is likely to be an expensive process. The attacking Iran-built drones cost an estimated $2,000 to $20,000 each, but the missiles US and other allied warships are likely using to bring them down may cost in excess of $1-2 million a shot.

While the United States has extensive stockpiles, other nations have fewer rockets in their stores. The last two years have seen unprecedented demand for military ordnance, just as multiple nations face budget constraints alongside a lack of personnel, ships and more.

Over the last two years, the Ukraine war has largely exhausted Western arsenals of artillery shells and a host of short and long-range weapons, while authorities in both Kyiv and Moscow have struggled to find the troops and firepower to make good on planned offensives.

Now, combating a sustained drone offensive from Yemen could ultimately exhaust the vital surface-to-air missiles Western warships rely on to defend themselves.

While the United States has extensive stockpiles, other nations have fewer rockets in their stores. The last two years have seen unprecedented demand for military ordnance, just as multiple nations face budget constraints alongside a lack of personnel, ships and more.

Over the last two years, the Ukraine war has largely exhausted Western arsenals of artillery shells and a host of short and long-range weapons, while authorities in both Kyiv and Moscow have struggled to find the troops and firepower to make good on planned offensives. Now, combating a sustained drone offensive from Yemen could ultimately exhaust the vital surface-to-air missiles Western warships rely on to defend themselves.

According to US officials, Chinese warships ostensibly on counter-piracy operations in the region have taken no action to protect nearby attacked merchant ships, even those owned by Hong Kong firms.

More broadly, however, analysts monitoring shipping patterns say many Russian, Chinese and vessels flagged to other nations had been continuing to transition Aden largely unaffected, some of them suspected to be part of an off-the-box “dark fleet” shipping Russian oil and gas to Asian nations despite Western sanctions.

That poses the most awkward question US and Western officials are avoiding answering – whether they believe the Houthi action might be coordinated not just with Iran, but also potentially with Moscow and Beijing. The signs are mixed, however, with some suspected dark fleet vessels now also circling in the Mediterranean and avoiding the Red Sea.

Two Indian vessels also in the vicinity to hinder piracy

India is trying to mitigate piracy in the region in its own way. India’s two stealth guided-missile destroyer—INS Kochi and INS Kolkata—have been deployed at the Gulf of Aden to augment its anti-piracy mission, following the hijacking of a Malta-flagged cargo vessel by pirates.

The Navy swiftly responded after receiving a call for help from MV Ruen, the Malta-flagged hijacked vessel, on December 14.

Days later, it evacuated one of the 18 crew members onboard the vessel off the coast of Somalia to provide medical care after he was injured by the pirates.

An Indian Navy official said INS Kochi intercepted MV Ruen in the early hours of December 16 and launched its integral helicopter to assess the situation, according to PTI.

The Navy spokesperson said a Japanese warship also arrived in the area on December 16 and was relieved by Spanish warship ESPNS Victoria later in the day.

"Indian Navy ship maintained in close vicinity of hijacked vessel during its transit towards Somalia from December 16 to 17, suitably engaging with the pirates and coordinating actions with the other warships," the official said.

The hijacked vessel entered the territorial waters of Somalia on December 17 and INS Kochi was successful in ensuring that the injured crew member was released by the pirates in the early hours of December 18 for further medical management.

(With Reuters, PTI inputs)