U.S.-Led Coalition Launches Strikes on Multiple Houthi Rebel Targets in Yemen
Iran-backed group defied ultimatum to halt attacks on ships in Red Sea
A U.S.-led coalition launched more than a dozen strikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, officials said late Thursday, two days after the Yemeni rebel force defied an ultimatum to halt its attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea with a barrage of missiles and drones.
The strikes, conducted by U.S. and British forces and supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, were intended to reduce the Houthis’ campaign, which the Iran-backed rebel group said it launched in response to Israel’s war on the Hamas militant group in Gaza.
The coalition strikes early Friday morning local time “targeted radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles,” said U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
A U.S. submarine, several destroyers and jet fighters, and part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group took part, a U.S. defense official said.
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Houthi officials reported explosions in the capital, San’a, and the provinces of Hodeida, Saada, and Dhamar and elsewhere, which they blamed on “American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen.” San’a hosts the Houthis’ missile inventories, while attacks on vessels were launched from the port of Hodeida, according to shipping executives.
“These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes,” President Biden said in a statement. “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
In a statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Royal Air Force participated in the strikes because “the United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.”
Four British Typhoon jet fighters targeted a Houthi drone base in northwestern Yemen and an airfield used to launch cruise missiles over the Red Sea. “Early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping…has taken a blow,” the U.K.’s defense ministry said.
The U.S. was still assessing the damage hours after the strikes, defense officials said.
The Houthis said they wouldn’t be deterred. One official threatened to hit U.S. bases in the region if the U.S. and U.K. strike more targets.
“This is a brutal aggression,” Nasr al-Din Amir, a Houthi official, told The Wall Street Journal. “They will undoubtedly pay its price, and we will not waver in our stance to support the Palestinian people, regardless of the cost.”
After the coalition strikes, the U.S. had “not seen any direct retaliatory action directed toward our U.S. or other coalition members in the Red Sea,” a senior military official told reporters Thursday night.
The strikes came with plenty of advance warning: A week ago, the U.S., Britain and key allies issued what amounted to an ultimatum to the rebel group to cease its assaults on international shipping. On New Year’s Day, President Biden convened his national security team to discuss options, a senior administration official told reporters Thursday evening. Despite the coalition warning, as recently as Thursday, the Houthis fired an antiship ballistic missile that fell into the water within sight of a commercial vessel, the U.S. military said.
In anticipation of a U.S. response, Houthi forces had relocated some weapons and equipment and fortified others, and stockpiled missiles in bunkers in the densely populated city of San’a, a U.S. defense official and a person close to the Houthis said. In addition, an Iranian spy vessel that security officials previously said would likely be targeted for its role assisting the rebels’ attacks on shipping, left the Red Sea early Thursday for Bandar Abbas, a port city on Iran’s southern coast, according to shipping consulting firm TankerTrackers.
The Biden administration and the U.S.-led coalition had been reluctant to respond too forcefully to the Houthis lest it trigger a war in the region, in part because of the group’s backing from Tehran, Western security officials and advisers have previously said. U.S. defense officials said the strike was intended to thread the needle—pressing the Houthis to quit their attacks without spurring more conflicts in the volatile region.
U.S. officials, however, anticipated that the Houthis may continue striking ships to signal they won’t be deterred and still pose a threat to ships in the Red Sea.
“The United States does not seek conflict with the Houthis in Yemen, indeed, we have been active in trying to create lasting peace in Yemen,” said Scott Taylor, a Republican former congressman from Virginia and a Navy SEAL who worked as a private security contractor in Yemen. “However, the militant wing inside the Houthis camp, supported by Iran, have profoundly miscalculated.”
Iranians based in Turkey have also provided intelligence on vessels linked to Israel, according to the person close to the Houthis. Meanwhile, Iran seized a Greek-run tanker it said had allowed the U.S. to seize its oil last year.
The Houthi attacks have hindered the movement of gas, oil and goods through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and forced some carriers to divert their ships around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
“The strikes were needed to guarantee the freedom of navigation through a vital sea route,” said Nils Haupt, a spokesman for German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG. “We will wait and see the effect before sending our ships back through.”
Houthi fighters overthrew the Yemeni government in 2014, leading Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to mount a military campaign against the rebels. Months of talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have produced a road map that the U.S. hopes could lead to resolution of the conflict.
But the war between Hamas and Israel has spurred the Houthis to launch missiles and drones at Israel and shipping traffic in the Red Sea, ending hopes for a halt to that military campaign.
A senior U.S. diplomat involved in the planning of the military operation said it was strongly opposed by the Saudis because of its potential impact on peace talks.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry in a statement called for restraint and expressed “great concern” about the strikes, while emphasizing “the importance of preserving the security and stability of the Red Sea region.”
While Houthis have said they were targeting any Israeli-affiliated ship, many of the targeted ships have no clear connection to Israel or the war.
The Houthis have carried out at least 27 attacks on commercial ships since mid-November, Centcom said. Between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4, the U.S. Navy said it had shot down 61 missiles and drones, while 1,500 commercial vessels had safely crossed the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for the Houthis to “immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace.” The resolution, introduced by the U.S. and Japan, was approved by a vote of 11-0. Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained.
About 80 vessels sailed through the Red Sea on Thursday. Roughly 20 are run by Chinese and Russian owners. Russian tanker operator Sovcomflot and Chinese boxship giant Cosco are still sending ships through the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal.
Both shipping companies didn’t return calls for comment on why they remain willing to sail through the Red Sea.
“Up until now the response of the task force was to shoot down what was thrown at the ships,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at maritime data provider Xeneta. “It’s not enough. Everyone in the industry wants decisive military action to take out the launch sites and the missile depots.”
The attacks have disrupted shipping in waters through which 8% of the world’s oil supply traveled, on average, in 2023 and risk raising consumer prices on everything from electronics to coffee. Container volumes through the Suez Canal from mid-December to Jan. 7 fell more than 60% from the same period a year ago—from 3.3 million boxes to 1.3 million boxes as the result of the ship diversions.
Write to Nancy A. Youssef at nancy.youssef@wsj.com, Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com and Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com
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