By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2023-12-23

ADEN -- With the escalation of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on cargo ships in the Red Sea, Yemen's legitimate government is exploring ways to enhance the capabilities of its naval forces to help secure regional waters.

This effort is separate from, yet in tandem with, global initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges presented by the Houthis, Asharq al-Awsat reported December 13.

International efforts include the establishment, on Monday (December 18), of a multinational security initiative in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to counter the Houthi threat in the strategic waterway.

Operation Prosperity Guardian will operate under the auspices of the 39-member Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and the leadership of its Combined Task Force 153 (CTF 153), which focuses on security in the Red Sea.

Amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea, Brig. Gen. Tariq Saleh, of Yemen's Presidential Command Council, on December 12 conducted a review of naval formations from the Yemeni Coast Guard and the First Marine Brigade.

The review, in the Taez province city of Mokha, demonstrated the readiness of Yemeni forces to carry out their duties in safeguarding peace and security within maritime borders in the western coastal sector, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

Saleh stressed "the importance of maintaining high vigilance and remaining in constant readiness to confront any aggressive risks that threaten ports, coasts, liberated islands and regional waters," the media outlet said.

He emphasized that Yemen's stability is the primary objective in developing any military force, and said the aggressive actions of the Houthis are geared towards harming Yemenis, destabilizing the country and interfering with regional waters.

The Houthis's actions serve to safeguard Iran's interests and its overarching goal of controlling international waters in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, he added.

Impact on Yemen

"International trade is sustaining serious losses as a result of the Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb," economist Abdul Aziz Thabet told Al-Fassel.

The effects are especially significant for Yemen, which is a net importer of food and has been suffering already from turbulent economic conditions due to a war initiated by the Iran-backed Houthis, he said.

In the face of mounting threats, a number of major shipping companies this week announced they were halting transit through the Red Sea.

"The suspension of transit of ships threatens Yemen's food imports as well as the import of basic necessities, which represent 90% of its needs," Thabet said.

Iran's recent claim that it has "predominance" in the Red Sea and threats to cause "extraordinary problems" should an effort to boost a multinational force that protects the waterway go forward also drew a sharp response from Yemen.

Threats such as this, issued by Iran's defense minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, "reveal the real motives for the attacks being launched by the Houthis," Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said in a December 16 post on X.

"Those claims are merely a pretext to engage in piracy and carry out dictated Iranian orders to threaten security and stability in the region, and threaten maritime security and global trade," he said.

Houthis' 'reckless actions'

Yemen's Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi meanwhile described the Houthis' targeting of vessels as "reckless actions" that serve Iran and its project.

Iran's reluctance to intervene directly in the Israel-Hamas war has caused its self-described "axis of resistance" serious embarrassment, he said.

For this reason, he said, Iran has given the "green light to the Houthis to launch these attacks on cargo ships."

The Houthis' actions in the Red Sea are detrimental to the Yemeni people, he aded, praising the Yemeni forces' move to unify their efforts to protect navigation in Bab al-Mandeb.

This move will have a positive effect on the security and safety of maritime shipping lanes, he said.

Al-Majeedi urged the international community to support Yemen's armed forces and Coast Guard so they can play a leading role in protecting navigation in the Red Sea.