The Trump administration this week teased the possibility that it could order resumed airstrikes in Yemen following the two latest attacks by the Houthis on two commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis have repeatedly claimed the operations would cease if Israel ends its ongoing military campaign and blockade in Gaza.
“These attacks highlight the continued danger posed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels to maritime trade and regional security,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a briefing earlier this week.
She emphasized that the US remains committed to defending commercial shipping and freedom of navigation. That's when she followed with what appeared to be a direct threat of more action.
"The United States has been clear: We will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks," she said.
That didn't sway the Houthis given on Wednesday they confirmed responsibility for a Monday strike on the Eternity C, a Greek-owned cargo ship headed to Israel’s port of Eilat. Israel has also been conducting occasional major aerial operations over Yemen.
Some 14 or 15 crew members have been taken hostage in the aftermath, with four killed. A Houthi military spokesman had described that the assault involved an unmanned boat along with six cruise and ballistic missiles.
The vessel was totally destroyed and sank, with the Houthis proudly boasting of the operation in a detailed, slick montage and video production of the raid.
Prior to that, the attack on the Magic Seas vessel drew international criticism. "It is the first such attack against a commercial vessel in 2025, a serious escalation endangering maritime security in a vital waterway for the region and the world," the EU warned.
"These attacks directly threaten regional peace and stability, global commerce and freedom of navigation as a global public good. They can negatively impact the already dire humanitarian situation in Yemen."
The EU also has a freedom of navigation military patrol in the region, after Washington had long urged for the bloc to step up and shoulder some of the defense responsibility to protect international shipping.
The Houthis have meanwhile announced fresh missile attacks on Israel:
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced on 10 July that it targeted Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile, hours after releasing new footage of an attack on a commercial vessel headed to Israel’s southern port of Eilat.
“The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation, targeting Lod Airport in the occupied Jaffa area with a Zolfiqar ballistic missile,” the YAF said in a statement on Thursday morning.
If the White House reverses course on its de facto ceasefire in the Red Sea, this would mark yet another major foreign policy reversal, coming off the decision to ramp up weapons shipments to Ukraine, after recently halting transfers.
