Following several hijacking attempts on cargo ships along the Red Sea route, the US and the UK jointly commenced airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Shortly after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against cargo ships and vessels passing through the Red Sea, the United States and the United Kingdom joined forces to undertake a retaliatory attack against the rebel group based in Iran in Yemen.
In the middle of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the US and UK's airstrikes in Yemen with the goal of targeting Houthi facilities have intensified the fighting there. The strikes were verified by a US official, who requested anonymity prior to a formal declaration. There have been reports of strong explosions in Al Hudaydah, a port city, and Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. Following the Biden administration's warning that there would be repercussions for the volley of drone strikes and anti-ship missiles that had targeted ships in the crucial commercial waterway, airstrikes were launched with the intention of striking at a source of the militant group's attacks.
Aiming to garner support for more aggressive action against the Houthis, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken concluded a multi-nation tour across the Middle East on Thursday. Hours later, he announced that "there will have to be consequences" if the attacks at sea continued. The assaults on cargo ships in the Red Sea have caused significant disruptions to the import-export trade in several nations, thus leading to a decline in oil prices.
According to Bloomberg, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak approved of the airstrikes, which were ordered by the US government. This is in response to West Texas Intermediate's 1.6% opening-day rally that saw it trade above $73 a barrel. The Houthi rebels were attacked after an oil ship off the coast of Oman was taken by the Iranian Navy on Thursday. Iran is now more closely involved in the Middle East's maritime crisis as a result of that episode. The US and UK have taken aggressive measures in response to the attacks on the Red Sea, which have had a major impact on several countries' supply chains and oil prices.
