Houthis renew attacks in Red Sea after three day hiatus

After a three-day hiatus, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen began their attacks again targeting ships. US Central Command says naval ships “successfully engaged and destroyed four long-range unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. These UAS were aimed at a US warship and engaged in self-defense over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported to US or coalition ships.”

The American naval forces “determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels.”

The last attack was on March 23 when the Houthis launched four ballistic missiles towards a ship. The ship was the MV Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker, Central Command said at the time. The US noted that “a fifth ballistic missile was detected as fired toward MV Huang Pu.

The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance. MV Huang Pu suffered minimal damage, and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported, and the vessel resumed its course. The Houthis attacked the MV Huang Pu despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels.” The USS Carney engaged six Houthi drones on the same day.

Ongoing Houthi attacks highlight Iranian foothold in region

The continued Houthi attacks illustrate how Iran continues to drive the war in the region. There has been some reduction in Iranian-backed attacks on the Red Sea front and also on the Iraq and Syria front.

For instance, Iranian-backed militias have reduced their attacks in Iraq because Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is in Washington this week. It is his first trip to the US capital since he took office in October 2022. Iraqi militias have carried out dozens of attacks on US forces.

In addition, Iraq is continuing to illegally hold Princeton doctoral candidate and researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov.

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.