The Houthis have declared that they will prohibit U.S. vessels from navigating the southern Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden, and will target U.S. Navy ships in retaliation for recent U.S. airstrikes on Yemen.
According to Houthi reports, U.S. attacks on March 15 resulted in 53 fatalities, coinciding with President Trump’s escalation of military operations aimed at reopening the Red Sea to commercial shipping.
On Truth Social, President Trump stated, “The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important waterways in the world, halting vast areas of global commerce and attacking the core principle of freedom of navigation, which international trade depends on.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth affirmed that the U.S. would continue to target the Houthis until they withdrew their threats to shipping.
The White House has published an article detailing Houthi attacks on international shipping and their repercussions on world trade, including a decline in transits through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Although no Houthi attacks on merchant vessels have been reported this year, ships continue to avoid the southern Red Sea due to the potential for sudden escalation in the region.
The Houthi announcement regarding the ban on U.S. vessels follows a recent statement from the group that it would resume its ban on Israeli vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden until Israel allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Earlier this year, the Houthis lifted their ban on international shipping in the Red Sea as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas progressed. However, they warned that any aggression from the U.S. or UK against their forces in Yemen would make vessels from those nations targets once again.
Notably, progress was marked in January when the crew of the car carrier Galaxy Leader was released after 14 months in Houthi captivity.
The recent U.S. strikes and the Houthi response align with earlier predictions regarding the fragile nature of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, with security experts warning that the region remained volatile and that escalation could occur rapidly, particularly threatening Israeli, U.S., and UK ships.
Since November 2023, the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC) has recorded 112 incidents in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including six serious incidents, 42 minor incidents, 46 attempted attacks, and four hijackings. Houthi attacks on merchant vessels have resulted in the deaths of four mariners and serious injuries to two others.
