Suez Canal Block joins the war. As tensions rise in the Red Sea and threaten global maritime trade, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis assure ” safe passage » For Chinese and Russian vessels on this strategic route that sees 12% of global maritime traffic transported. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political leadership, told the Russian daily Izvestia on Friday.
“Israeli ships, or those with even tenuous ties to Israel, will not have the slightest chance of crossing the Red Sea (…) Our goal is to increase the economic costs for the Jewish state to stop the carnage in Gaza,” he said. And American and British boats are being monitored especially closely after the American military bombards Houthi positions in Yemen, sometimes supported by British aircraft.
“The madness and stupidity of the United States and the United Kingdom have worked against them: now none of their ships will be able to cross one of the main trade routes of the world. The loss for the aggressor countries is greater than the loss of Yemen,” said the Houthi leader.
” Other countries, including China and Russia, pose no threat to their maritime transport in the region. Moreover, we are also ready to ensure the safe passage of their ships through the Red Sea “, assured Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti.
There is nothing surprising if we consider that Iran, which supports the Houthis, is close to Moscow and Beijing. Since mid-November, the Houthis have carried out nearly thirty attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming to target ships bound for Israel. Unity » With the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Being able to use the Red Sea and therefore the Suez Canal, Russian and Chinese ships avoid passing through South Africa and thus save 10 to 20 days of travel compared to ships that choose to avoid the Red Sea for security reasons. But this new route is very expensive and is starting to disrupt the supply chain.
Escalation
This Friday, Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for a strike against an American merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, which, however, was undamaged, according to Washington.
” Naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces (the name given to the armed wing of the Houthis, editor’s note) conducted a targeted operation with several anti-ship missiles in the Gulf of Aden against the American ship, Cam Ranger. of which hit their target “, they said in a press release.
US military command in the Middle East (CENTCOM) confirmed the attack, but with “ Two missiles », without the merchant ship Cam Ranger reaching it, as claimed by the rebels.
gang” Missiles were seen hitting the water near the ship and “there were no reports of injuries or damage.” », Centcom added. According to specialist site Marine Traffic, the Cam Ranger is an American tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands that has been off the coast of Yemen in recent days. For its part, the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) reported an incident with an explosion 30 meters from the ship, 115 nautical miles southeast of the city of Aden, and clarified that a drone had been stolen nearby.
The United States struck Houthi sites in Yemen for the fifth time on Thursday.
More specifically, Washington said it attacked Houthi missiles. “We believe they were prepared for an imminent launch into the Red Sea,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Sabrina Singh, a deputy spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence, said the bombings, which began late last week and were sometimes carried out with the United Kingdom, ” Destroy a significant portion of the capacitys» of the Houthis.
Moscow has accused Washington of its ” attack » Against Yemen
In Moscow, the Russian foreign minister, however, accused the United States of its ” attack » Against Yemen. “The more American and British bombs, the less the Houthis will want to talk,” said Sergey Lavrov.
Thursday’s American bombing was the second in less than 24 hours on missiles from the Houthis, a group that was placed by Washington on Wednesday on one of its ” terrorist organizations “
France wants to avoid escalation
US President Joe Biden announced this week that the strikes would continue as long as the Houthis continue to disrupt international maritime trade.
In the face of these attacks, the United States established a coalition to patrol Yemen’s coast and secure maritime traffic. Not all countries in the coalition are participating in the strike, but Denmark, home to No. 2 in global shipping Maersk, announced on Thursday that it would join. France has decided not to participate. To avoid any increase
» in the region, according to its president Emmanuel Macron.(with AFP)