Alarms are ringing in major shipping companies and some Western governments. Rebel militias in Yemen systematically attack ships crossing the Red Sea (between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa) in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The aim is to disrupt global freight routes; It is causing a surge in prices that has led some Western governments, from the US to the UK, including Germany, to rethink their support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Strip, which has already killed more than 15,000 people.
The strategy is to hit or miss the ships crossing that sea with missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles. Increase the cost of insurance, crew salaries and freight transportation in general. Several well-targeted hits or misses in the value chain of manufactured products gas and oilmay cause a general increase in prices. This is a difficult situation to accept for economies already damaged by inflation caused by Russia’s energy war after last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
This Sunday alone, one US warship and at least four merchant ships were attacked. Houthi rebels’ missiles or drones. It is a Shiite militia group from Yemen that is engaged in a civil war against the government of Sanaa (the capital), which is backed by Iran and supported by Saudi Arabia.
They started the destroyer by launching anti-ship ballistic missiles USSCarney, Even though they couldn’t reach it. Then they attacked the merchant ship Unity Explorer, operated from the United Kingdom. Although it was hit by a missile launched by Yemeni rebels, it sustained only “minor damage”. Another missile hit grain carrier Number Nine, which was flying a Panamanian flag but also operated by the United Kingdom. This caused significant damage. Panama ship Sophie II He requested assistance from the US Navy due to another missile attack. Meanwhile, US warships were forced to shoot down many attack aircraft. And that was just on Sunday. Cargo ship two weeks ago Unity Traveler, The facility, run by the son of Israeli businessman Rami Ungar, was stopped by the militia. They also kidnapped another Galaxy Leader on November 20th. They put the flags of Yemen and Palestine on the cover.
“Both Hamas and the Houthis are allies of Iran. Tehran aims to increase maritime navigation costs “The use of the world’s main sea routes to put additional pressure on Western governments, which can see how commodity prices and, above all, energy prices are rising,” he explains to this newspaper. Yago Rodríguez, PhD student in the field of military innovations of insurgencies. “They want them to put pressure on the Israeli government to stop the attack on Gaza.”
This poses a clear risk to shipping companies and international trade. In response to this newspaper’s question, one of the world’s largest shipping companies admits: “Currently The safety of our ships and sailors is our priority,” he said, but declined to comment further due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Thus, Iran can create tension both in the Red Sea separating Yemen from Africa and in the Middle East. lower strait, Bab el-Mandeb strait. If he wanted to escalate the conflict, he could even launch precise, specific attacks on Saudi or Kuwaiti energy infrastructures because those are within range of Shahed drones. Thus, they would both unsettle the raw material markets and increase the price of liquid gold. There is a fear of reprisals similar to those experienced after the Yon Kippur war between Israel and Egypt and Syria. Then the Arab oil countries caused an incident. Energy shortages crushing Western economies. However, this possibility seems a little more remote because Saudi Arabia and Iran are getting closer politically and reestablishing diplomatic relations with the mediation of China.
“The situation is not only likely to escalate, but is also likely to escalate in the coming weeks. The peak of the war in Gaza“says Rodríguez. Having heavily bombed and rendered unusable the north of Gaza, the Hebrew Army is now advancing towards the south of the Strip. Humanitarian organizations and world leaders, from Joe Biden to Pedro Sánchez to António Guterres, are asking Israel to stop.” Due to the rate of Palestinian civilian casualties in the attacks and to avoid a first-level humanitarian crisis, the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu rejects this for now.
“Iran is interested in pressuring and threatening, even will be realized through a regional escalation“I protect its ally Hamas because if it is eliminated as Israel wants, Hezbollah’s Lebanese Shiite militias will be the only important ally of the Ayatollah regime,” the analyst concludes.
This concerns the implementation of the technique of staggering hostilities, which creates additional costs for both Israel and its main ally, the United States.
“Yemeni Armed Forces will continue to prevent Israeli ships from crossing the border” Red Sea and Arabian Sea According to Europa Press, the spokesman of the Houthi military forces, Yahya Sari Qasim Sar, says: “Until the attacks against our brothers in the Gaza Strip stop.” Therefore, they insist on their “warning” to all “Israeli or related” ships. They are now a “legitimate target.” .
Time will tell how the US and its allies will react. The United Kingdom Government, which is the country that attacks the most ships for now, Strengthened its military presence in the region With the deployment of HMS Diamond, which will join HMS Lancaster. “These waters are important routes for global trade and incidents such as this demonstrate the importance of the Royal Navy presence in the region,” Defense said in a statement. The statement was included. London wants to strengthen security in the region through two international maritime protection mechanisms, the International Maritime Security Convention and the Joint Naval Forces.