By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-01-02

The invitation extended to the naval forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government to join a multinational naval coalition in the Red Sea will bolster its ability to confront the Iran-backed Houthis, analysts say.

In an interview with Aden TV on December 11, Naval and Coastal Defense Forces Commander Abdullah al-Nakhai said the legitimate government's naval forces received an invitation to join the US-led coalition.

"The naval forces are trying to make their participation, whether with boats, personnel or communications, effective," al-Nakhai said, noting that the naval forces will be supplied with two gunboats in the coming weeks.

The United States announced the formation of a multinational Red Sea coalition on December 18 with the aim of countering the Houthi threat in the strategic waterway.

So far, more than a dozen countries have joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international task force to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Pentagon announced December 21.

The Houthis have in recent weeks stepped up attacks on cargo ships traversing the waterway.

Supporting Yemen's naval forces

Now that Yemen's legitimate naval forces are working with the international coalition to stop Houthi terrorist attacks on ships in the Red Sea, confrontations between them and the naval forces commanded by the Houthis are likely, analysts say.

"The legitimate government's naval forces in Aden-Mokha on the western coast need to be supported with advanced weapons and their personnel need to receive [further] training so they can deal with the challenge of protecting commercial vessels," military analyst Brig. Gen. Abdullah al-Ashwal said.

The Naval and Coastal Defense Forces are a branch of the Yemeni Armed Forces and were formed after the unification of Yemen in 1990 and the merger of the northern and southern naval forces, he said.

"Those forces have naval bases in Hadramaut, Aden and al-Hodeidah, as well as floating units, coastal defense units and marine units."

After the Houthis staged their 2014 coup against state institutions, they controlled the naval and coast guard forces in al-Hodeidah, which became a base for Iran, via the Houthis, to launch terrorist attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Iran's aim behind its intervention in Yemen was to find a foothold in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb strait through which an estimated 12.5 to 20% of the world's trade passes each year.

Houthi weapons

"The Houthis' naval arsenal includes sophisticated weapons, drones, drone boats and explosives-laden boats," al-Ashwal said.

In comparison, the legitimate government's naval forces have "modest capabilities, including a number of boats for protecting the Yemeni coast, and seizing drugs and Iranian weapons that are smuggled to the Houthis," he said.

Some of the Houthi naval weapons include the al-Bahr al-Ahmar missile -- a dual heat-seeking and radar-guided anti-ship missile modified from the Saeer missile -- and Moheet and Aasef, two naval missiles powered by solid and liquid fuel.

The Houthis also have Mandeb-1 and Mandeb-2, two naval cruise missiles known for their precision strikes; and Rubezh-21 and Rubezh-22, two Russian missiles modified by the Yemeni army and re-introduced into service with a range of more than 300km.

The Houthis displayed a number of radars, naval missiles and naval mines in a military parade on September 21, al-Ashwal added.

Although the capabilities of the legitimate government's naval forces are limited, they have agreed to join the new task force, he said, urging the international community to support them with more weapons and training so they can confront the Houthis' naval forces.

Confronting Iran's 'suicide force'

"After seizing Sanaa in 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis controlled the coast guard resources in al-Hodeidah and added Iranian expertise to them," said Abdul Salam Mohammed, director of the Abaad Center for Strategic Studies.

"The Houthis have also been supplied with naval missiles and boats, including some drone boats and explosives-laden boats," he told Al-Fassel.

"The Houthis' experience from working with weapon smugglers, pirates and drug dealers over many years has given them extensive knowledge of the Red Sea," Mohammed said.

"This is in addition to their control of the naval communication system, whereby they now guide vessels in their transit through ports under their control," he said.

The Houthis' naval forces are "an Iranian suicide force" consisting of explosives-laden boats and naval missiles, he added.

"Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been planning terrorist attacks against commercial vessels even before the Gaza events," said political analyst Faisal Ahmed.

According to Sheba Intelligence, an open-source intelligence platform, the Houthis had received training on sea attacks, seizure of vessels and use of naval mines at al-Lohaia port, he said.

Meanwhile, "the work of the legitimate government's naval forces is focused on seizing weapon and drug shipments coming from Iran, and confronting piracy," he told Al-Fassel.

The Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea with Iran's support "are terrorist operations that must be stopped by the international community with the active participation of the Yemeni navy, provided that it is supported," he said.

"Military confrontations between these two naval forces are now possible after the Yemeni government agreed to join the new international maritime coalition [in the Red Sea]," he added.