• Middle East Ten navies, including Spain's, will keep the Red Sea open in the face of Houthi attacks on merchant ships
  • Middle East: U.S. Convenes Meeting with Allies to Seek Support to Defend Red Sea
  • Middle East U.S. Warship and Commercial Ships Attacked in Red Sea

The US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, announced on Tuesday in Bahrain, where he is on an official visit, the constitution of an international flotilla, under US command and in which Spain will participate, to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, which has become a war zone in the last month due to continued attacks by Houthi militias against merchant ships, as a result of which several have suffered damage of varying degrees and at least one has been hijacked.

Austin made the remarks after visiting Israel, where he said the U.S. is "not going to dictate the timetable or the terms of the fighting" to Israel in the Gaza war. Thus, the Secretary of Defense denied, at least in front of the gallery, the reports that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wants Israel to drastically reduce its military operations as of December 31. When it comes to defense, Israel is totally dependent on the United States.

The Houthis have missiles and drones delivered by Iran to sustain their long war against Yemen's government, supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Their attacks are in support of the Hamas terror group, which has been waging an open war with Israel since Oct. 7. In addition to the attacks on ships, the Houthis have launched at least twenty cruise missiles at Israel, of which the vast majority have been intercepted by US ships and at least one by an Israeli F-35 fighter-bomber, when it was already very close to reaching its target.

The countries that will participate in the operation, called the Guardian of Prosperity - a very significant name, given the importance of the Red Sea in guaranteeing the flow of goods to Europe and, in general, to the whole world - are, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom and France (which already have destroyers in the area that have gone into action intercepting Houthi missiles and drones), Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Bahrain, and Seychelles. The absence of the major regional powers – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – is significant, although that could be due to those countries' fear of attacks from Iran or its allies across the region. In the past, the Houthis have carried out major bombing raids on Saudi oil facilities. According to The NewYork Times, most of the countries that will join the operation have warships in the area. That is not the case in Spain.

  • Israel
  • Ministry of Defence
  • United States
  • France
  • Canada
  • Yemen
  • War in Israel