US Military Showdown Imminent in Red Sea as UN Issues Final Warning

The UN Security Council’s warning to Yemen’s Houthi movements to halt attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea was among the last diplomatic steps before military action, according to officials from multiple countries participating in a coalition to protect sea traffic.

The Houthis control large swaths of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, in the wake of a decade-long civil war and military intervention by neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The Iranian aligned group has used its Red Sea coastline to target international shipping with an array of homemade missiles and drones in protest against Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.  

The attacks, which include the seizure of a Japanese-managed containership, have drawn the ire of the U.S., U.K., and other allies as they attempt to secure the sea lanes that account for about 15 percent of global commercial traffic.

The security council issued its warning Wednesday after Houthis fired at least 18 cruise missiles and drones at U.S. and U.K. warships patrolling the area on Tuesday. 

Voting 11-0 with abstentions by China and Russia, the resolution is expected to provide additional diplomatic cover for military action.

During a press comment in Bahrain, where he is meeting with regional officials about the situation in Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the Houthi leadership that “actions have consequences.”

The possibility of military action against Houthi naval and missile forces comes after weeks of frantic efforts by U.S. officials from President Joe Biden to CIA Director William Burns to de-escalate regional tensions in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on Gaza’s surrounding communities that killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to a widely destructive military response by the IDF that’s killed more than 23,000 Gazans so far. 

Fears that fighting could escalate regionally with Hamas’ Iranian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Yemeni allies – therefore drawing  the U.S. into a costly regional war – remain a key concern, according to a coalition military official, who declined to be identified on the record. 

“The region is very tense and there’s no benefit to an escalation with the Houthis. There’s been weeks of efforts to avoid military action,” said the official. “But the latest round [of attacks on Tuesday] were a clear provocation and a message from the Houthis that they’re unwilling to allow for freedom of sea trade.” 

Any military action against the Houthis would likely lead to retaliation in the form of additional missiles and drones being fired at international forces, said the official, including ballistic missiles fired at Israel from Yemen.

“There’s been concern about further attacks on Israel by Houthi missiles and drones and thus far they’ve all been intercepted,” said the official. “Military action against the Houthis will escalate the situation, but it’s clear the Houthis have little interest in de-escalation right now. They seem to have made their decision.”