ER Editor: With many shipping companies now ceasing transit through the Red Sea due to the Yemeni military’s attacks on vessels attempting to enter it, US Operation Prosperity Guardian begins today.
⚡️BREAKING
The United States will announce Operation Prosperity Guardian tomorrow and has sent an additional destroyer to the Red Sea.
Houthi commentator told Al Jazeera that any attack on Yemen or missile launch sites would turn the entire Red Sea into a warzone.
The only… pic.twitter.com/ImzSvXxcE5
— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) December 18, 2023
Yemeni Minister of Defense:
We have what will sink your fleets, your battleships, your submarines and your aircraft carriers, and the Red Sea will be your graveyard. pic.twitter.com/jhRc2CJ1ve— Sprinter (@Sprinter00001) December 18, 2023
#SaudiArabia+#UAE refuse to join new US coalition against Houthis in Red Sea to avoid being seen to be ‘protecting Israel’ and to avoid provoking the Houthis into firing missiles at them… But they have shoved hapless Bahrain into the alliance as an apologetic gesture to #Israel pic.twitter.com/vJQuneP4lt
— Sami Hamdi سامي الهاشمي الحامدي (@SALHACHIMI) December 18, 2023
Egypt does not take part in anti-Yemen coalitions
A knowledgeable Egyptian source says that permanent communication has been established between Egypt, Iran and Yemen to ensure the security of the Red Sea, and the country will not participate in any coalition against the Yemeni… pic.twitter.com/W8nZjdfHb7
— Sprinter (@Sprinter00001) December 18, 2023
America’s fear of Yemeni anti-ship missiles
American weekly newspaper Newsweek:
The US Navy’s problems in the Red Sea have worsened.
Sana’a has a good stockpile of anti-ship missiles and can harass a large number of ships that the US Navy intends to protect. pic.twitter.com/58qz00NoO2— Sprinter (@Sprinter00001) December 18, 2023
From Zerohedge –
‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ – Pentagon Launches Expansive Naval Coalition To Defend Red Sea Passage
Of note:
Update (1150ET): A US-led naval coalition is finally coming together to protect international shipping transit in the Red Sea and vital Bab al-Mandab Strait, per a breaking development from Politico’s chief Pentagon correspondent: “The Pentagon is expected to announce tomorrow the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new task force to protect shipping from Houthi attacks in the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea, per DOD official,” writes Lara Seligman on X.
“The operation will be within the framework of the existing Combined Maritime Force 153, a partnership of 39 nations focused on counter piracy and counter terrorism in the Red Sea.”
From The Cradle —
From the River to the (Red) Sea: Why the US is forming a new naval task force
Instead of pressuring Israel to stop its brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration is now mobilizing Arab and western fleets – and perhaps an Israeli one as well – to safeguard Tel Aviv’s economic, political, and military interests.
Amid heightened naval operations carried out against Israel-bound vessels by Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces, this US mobilization is taking place under the guise of upholding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
Officially, Washington claims it is doing its utmost to prevent Israel’s war from expanding into a regional confrontation, and has publicly urged Tel Aviv to tone down its indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the besieged strip.
In reality, however, the White House is employing empty rhetoric to buy Israel more time to achieve a victory in Gaza and eliminate the Palestinian resistance.
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From Middle East Monitor —
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Oil giant BP, Evergreen Line pause all transits through Red Sea
BP and Evergreen Line have suspended shipments passing through the Red Sea amid Yemeni operations.
Conglomerate oil giant BP is pausing all its Red Sea shipments “until further notice,” reports stated on Monday.
The decision was taken as a result of the unstable environment through water canals in the Red Sea, as the Yemeni Resistance declared that any Israeli-affiliated ship going through its waters would be targeted, in an act of solidarity with Palestine.
“The safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP’s priority. In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea. We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region,” BP said.
Several other shipping companies have suspended shipments following the Yemeni operations in the waterway. Evergreen Line also paused all shipments going through the Red Sea “until further notice” as well, after revealing that it would no longer import or export Israeli cargo on its ships.
This threatens the Israeli supply chain, as the Red Sea makes one of the most vital routes for oil, fuel, and consumer goods shipments, and “Israel” significantly depends on imports.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA CGM announced on Saturday they were suspending passage through the Red Sea.
The declaration by MSC, an Italian-Swiss conglomerate, and CMA CGM, a French shipping company, follows a similar move by the world’s second-largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, who announced, on Friday, the suspension of all container traffic through the Red Sea until further notice.
After Maersk, the German international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd issued a comparable statement, saying it would stop all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday when it would reassess the situation.
“Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to secure the safety of our crews,” the spokesperson said, declining to provide additional comments.
On December 14, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that their Naval forces carried out a military operation against the Maersk Gibraltar cargo ship, which was en route to the Israeli occupation entity.
In addition, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, publicly announced that the Yemeni Naval Forces targeted the MSC Alanya and the MSC PALATIUM III with anti-ship missiles, dealing direct hits to the two vessels, on December 15.
No peace in the Red Sea without a ceasefire in Gaza
This comes as Ansar Allah Political Bureau member Abdul-Malik al-Ajri said on December 14 that there is no way to restore calm in the Red Sea without a ceasefire in Gaza.
“There is no way of preventing the escalation except by moving towards a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” al-Ajri said.
Through a post he made on X, the Yemeni top official stressed that peace in the Red Sea was “linked to restoring calm in the Gaza Strip,” clearly talking about a ceasefire as the Israeli occupation continues to escalate against the strip’s civilian population.
He also stressed that even if all the naval fleets on Earth gathered in the Red Sea, they “would not bring security to Israel or Israeli ships, nor any ships heading to [Israel].”
من الجيد ما نلمسه من ادراك لبعض الأطراف الدولية أنه ما من سبيل لمنع توسع التصعيد سيما في البحر الأحمر إلا بالدفع نحو وقف اطلاق نار دائم ورفع الحصار عن غزة ،وعلى من لم من يصل لمثل هذه القناعة- حتى الآن- أن يدرك جيدا أن أساطيل الارض لو احتشدت الى البحر الأحمر لن تجلب الأمان…
— عبدالملك العجريAbdulmalik Alejri (@alejri77) December 13, 2023
Source
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