The tension rises again Red Sea. The Houthis they claimed responsibility for a attack occurred in the last few hours against one Greek commercial ship. The United States Central Command (Centcom) announced in a tweet that the MV Cyclades, flying the Maltese flag, managed to continue its course after being targeted by three anti-ship ballistic missiles. “Initial reports indicate that there were no injuries and the ship continued on its way“, wrote the US commander on X. The blitz also involved the use of a drone, launched at US warships patrolling the sea route but shot down by American forces. Maritime tracking data shows the bulk carrier was headed from Saleef, Yemen, to the Suez passage. CentCom also claims to have “successfully engaged and destroyed” a Houthi UAV headed towards the USS Philippine Sea and the USS Laboon in the Red Sea. No injuries or damage were reported in either incident.
What happens in the Red Sea
The spotlights turned on the Red Sea again on the afternoon of Monday 29 April. The British Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) had in fact reported unspecified explosions “in the immediate vicinity” of a commercial vessel off the Yemeni coast northwest of Mokha. “The vessel and crew were reported safe and sound,” the agency, run by the Royal Navy, added. The security company later maritime Ambrey had explained that the Malta-flagged container ship was en route from Djibouti to Jeddah and that the vessel had probably been targeted by Yemeni rebels”due to the ongoing trading of its listed operator with Israel“.
Centcom confirmed the version adding some more details. Specifically, US forces shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the waters of the Red Sea while en route “to USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon“. “The UAV represented a imminent threat for U.S., coalition and merchant ships in the region“, he wrote on X, specifying that the episode did not cause injuries or generate significant damage to vehicles in the area.
Houthi attacks
The Houthis have therefore returned to the foreground. From November to today, the Iran-backed group – which controls the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast – has launched a series of attacks against vessels (commercial and otherwise) transiting the waters of the most strategic maritime region of the Middle East. The reason? Their moves are expected to express solidarity with Palestinians involved in Gaza’s war against Israel and target ships in any way linked to Tel Aviv and their partners. Since January, the United States and Britain have launched repeated raids against Houthi targets in Yemen in response to these types of actions.
The cause of the raids recorded in the last few hours could coincide with the “the preparations of United States for a vast air campaign against Yemen, which will also include a land attack“. As some Lebanese media wrote, the rebels are monitoring any signals and may have launched their attacks in relation to Washington’s moves. According to an article written in the newspaper Al Akhbaraffiliated with Hezbollah, the ground attack will be American conducted in part by “factions loyal to the United Arab Emirates, on multiple fronts“.
It has also been stated that “Israel recently conducted a military exercise involving Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries at Al Dhafra air base in the Emirates“.
