The United States continues to conduct defensive strikes against sites in Yemen as the Iran-backed Houthis keep up their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
In the days following a large defensive air-strike operation January 11 against Yemeni sites by the United States and Britain, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, the Houthis again fired ballistic missiles into the Red Sea, including against a Maltese flagged bulk carrier and a U.S. owned and operated container ship. The U.S. responded by launching additional air-strikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen.
In a statement concerning the January 11 strikes by the U.S. and Britain, President Joe Biden noted that the defensive operation, which targeted Houthi missile, radar, and unmanned aerial capabilities, came after weeks of warnings by the United States, dozens of other nations, and the U.N. Security Council, urging the Houthis to stop their attacks on commercial shipping. “These attacks,” he said, “have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade and threatened freedom of navigation.” President Biden also declared, “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
At a press briefing following the Houthi’s continued missile attacks in the Red Sea, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby said in regard to the American and British airstrikes of January 11, the United States had “fully anticipated ... that the Houthis would probably conduct some retaliatory strikes.” However, he noted, by degrading their military capability, “we are making it harder for them to conduct these attacks.”
NSC Coordinator Kirby emphasized that the United States “stands ready to defend our interests, our sailors, our ships, and that of merchant shipping as required. ... We’re not looking for a war,” he said. “We’re not looking to expand this. The Houthis have a choice to make, and they still have time to make the right choice, which is to stop these reckless attacks.”