On May 22, 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran—which connect the Gulf of Aqaba and the Israeli port of Eilat to the Red Sea. This move, together with the repositioning of Egyptian forces to attack Israel, precipitated the Six-Day War. In the past several days, Houthi rebels in Yemen have attempted something far more consequential: closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and thus blockading the entire Red Sea, cutting off not just Eilat but also the Suez Canal.
The U.S. has responded to this threat to global commerce by moving an aircraft carrier to the nearby Gulf of Aden. On Friday alone, there were two separate Houthi assaults on commercial vessels, and on Saturday an American destroyer shot down fourteen attack drones launched by the Iran-backed terrorist group. Asher Orkaby comments:
Piracy and terrorist organizations at the southern gates of the Red Sea are not a new phenomenon. Recent Houthi attacks on Israeli shipping, however, aim not for plunder, ransom, or political demands. The perpetrators seek only propaganda victories, a far more dangerous goal and one without the ability to be mitigated by diplomatic appeasement.
A strong defensive posture coordinated by the United States and other naval powers with a presence in the region is the most effective route towards ensuring immediate Red Sea maritime security. . . . Defensive measures cannot, however, bring about a permanent solution to Red Sea insecurity. Houthi militias continue to mount Red Sea attacks, both against Israeli shipping and other national civilian vessels, as part of a propaganda campaign and to pressure the international community to recognize Houthi power and authority in South Arabia.
Rather than offer the Houthis political recognition, the international community should ultimately recognize the unfortunate fact that even when faced with the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, Houthi leadership would rather invest treasure and human capital in seeking a propaganda victory against Israel than feed its own population. Such a group should not be normalized, nor should it be invited to the negotiating table as an equal and legitimate partner for Yemeni leadership. To do so would risk dragging the southern Red Sea through years of conflict and anarchy, with costly repercussions for global commerce.
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