Starting back in October 2023, a militia group known as the Houthis began attacking military and cargo ships off the coasts of Yemen. The whole conflict is sparked from Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 8 2023, when U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, moved the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean. In retaliation to the U.S. Navy, the Iranian-backed Houthis launch multiple cruise missiles and drones towards the strike group and towards Israel as the Houthis backed Hamas.
A month later, a U.S. unmanned aircraft was shot down by Houthis militants and a cargo ship was seized. The acts of violence would not stop as in December, more missiles and drones were fired at both military and commercial ships, some even striking their target. Right before the new year, a container ship by the name of Maersk Hangzhou was under attack by numerous Houthi vessels. Shots were fired and the militants attempted to board the ship. However, a security team onboard the ship made sure no Houthi could successfully board and fended off the rebels. In a short time, U.S. naval ships rushed to the scene to aid the vessel and eventually a majority of the Houthi ships were sunk.
The U.S. has not been sitting idly while their navy has been under attack. Back in December, sanctions were made against numerous individuals and entities that were believed to be funding the Houthis. Along with sanctions, the U.S. has formed several naval coalitions to combat the aggression. Even though the Defense Minister of Iran, Mohammed Reza Ashtiana, threatened the U.S. and declared that a naval coalition meant that the U.S. would face severe problems, the U.S. formed a twenty plus country coalition. The operation to respond to Houthis by the coalitions is called Operation Prosperity Guardian and this operation has already seen devastating strikes in retaliation to enemies of the U.S. and the coalition.
The coalition and the world is depending on the swift demise of the Houthis as they have delayed world shipping and created fear throughout the world’s seas.