USA forms military coalition against Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea
Austin explained that the mission was intended to secure "freedom of navigation for all countries" and strengthen "regional security and prosperity". The Pentagon chief had previously warned during a visit to Israel: "Iran's support for Houthi attacks on merchant ships must stop."
Since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas, the Iranian-affiliated Houthi militia in Yemen has repeatedly fired drones and missiles at Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels are threatening to attack any ship on its way to Israel unless more food and medicine is allowed to be transported to the Gaza Strip.
The Red Sea is an important shipping route through which up to twelve percent of world trade passes. Yemen is located on the Bab-al-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
On Monday, the British oil company BP announced that it was suspending all voyages through the Red Sea due to the repeated attacks. At the weekend, four major shipping companies had already announced that they would no longer sail their ships through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait with immediate effect, including the Danish company Maersk and the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd.
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Source: www.stern.de
