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> With just a few missile attacks, most of them failed, the Houthis have disrupted global trade. The Houthis have repeatedly stated they are only targeting shi
by CapricornNoble 3y ago
> With just a few missile attacks, most of them failed, the Houthis have disrupted global trade.
The Houthis have repeatedly stated they are only targeting ships heading to/from Israeli ports. Everyone else SHOULD be able to proceed on their merry way, but I understand the rationale of risk avoidance by simply avoiding the whole region.
> I wonder why we don't see Egypt's and Saudi Arabia's navy sending ships to the coast of Yemen.
Hmmmm, Saudi Arabia is in an awkward position. They've been at war with the Houthis partly because they are Iranian proxies. But now they are starting to repair relations with Iran. Also the Saudis need to maintain credibility with the Islamic world as a whole, and it would be a very bad look if they were interdicting Yemeni efforts to support the struggle for Palestinian liberation.
Egypt might be similarly passive, but more for domestic reasons. Western-leaning government prefers relatively normal relations with Israel (and booming Suez Canal traffic), but likely large portions of their population doesn't. "Do nothing" is an easy middle ground.
- dehrmann 3y ago> The Houthis have repeatedly stated they are only targeting ships heading to/from Israeli ports. Everyone else SHOULD be able to proceed on their merry way. Would you go on a cruise through the Suez? Mistakes happen.
- CapricornNoble 3y agoNo but I wouldn't have gone on a cruise through the Suez (and presumably down the length of the Red Sea) for the past two decades anyway: Somali piracy has long been a scourge in the region.
- Fatnino 3y agoSomali piracy has been cleaned up. The same navies that did that should do the same to the Yemenis
- hackerlight 3y ago> But now they are starting to repair relations with Iran. I wouldn't draw this conclusion just because they had a few meetings. The Saudis are facing the same dilemma as Egypt, where the leaders have to manage optics with non-committal signals. Once this war ends, the Saudis will be facing the same security reality as prior to the war, therefore the Saudis will have the same reasons for opposing Iran and seeking out alliance with the US. Nothing substantive will change in this calculation, assuming the war is contained in Gaza.
- citrin_ru 3y ago> The Houthis have repeatedly stated they are only targeting ships heading to/from Israeli ports. Then they expanded this to any ships with some connection to Israel but already attacked a ship headed to Italy which has no (publicly) known connection to Israel. IMHO attacks on unrelated ships will continue to happen because: 1. they have poor intelligence 2. why should they care about mistakes if they meet zero pushback.