Since mid-November, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched more than 500 attacks with missiles, armed drones, armed unmanned maritime vehicles and boats, making the Red Sea the world’s most dangerous waterway.
The U.S.-led international coalition’s warship patrols around the Bab al-Mandab Strait and artillery bombardment of Houthi targets in Yemen have not forced the Iranian-backed group to back down.
The Houthis announced an attack on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower last week and said on Monday night they had shot down a US F-22 fighter jet.
The Iranian-backed group, which controls western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, has not provided any evidence for its statement.
The change in tactics is being made to thwart the Houthis, who have sunk a merchant ship and damaged 21 vessels using what was previously the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.
The US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, destroyed eight air defense systems and radars last week after reporting that four Iranian-backed Houthi radar systems had been hit. The firing of the radars and air defense systems prompted comments that the US-led international coalition was preparing a major military operation inside Yemeni territory.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions targeting two individuals and five entities with ties to China for aiding the Houthis, including a Middle East-based shipping company.
The U.S. government alleges that individuals and entities on the sanctions list are facilitating arms shipments to the Houthis in Yemen.
China-based machinery companies Ningbo Beilun Saige and Dongguan Yushi have been added to the US list. It remains to be seen how Beijing, a key ally of Iran, will respond to the sanctions.
