Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.US forces have carried out additional air strikes in response to the deaths of three American troops in Jordan, targeting locations in Yemen where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have caused problems for commercial shipping. The US, along with the UK, targeted 36 Houthi sites in Yemen in 13 different locations on Saturday, following previous strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps targets in Iraq and Syria, according to the Pentagon. A joint statement from the US, UK, and six other nations warned the Houthi leadership of potential consequences for illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels. The strikes focused on Houthi weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defenses, and radars. US defense secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized the goal of de-escalating tensions and restoring stability in the Red Sea. UK defense secretary Grant Shapps stated that the attacks were aimed at protecting innocent lives and maintaining freedom of navigation, denying that they constituted an escalation. Iran and Iraq cautioned that the US strikes could lead to increased instability across the region. President Joe Biden seeks to deter continued targeting of American service members while avoiding involvement in a larger regional conflict. The US has had more than 160 attacks launched by Iranian-backed groups on American troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since mid-October. Last weekend’s drone attack on a US military base in Jordan, the first to kill American forces since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, raised the risk of escalation. The US claimed to have struck 85 targets at 7 sites on Friday, with the Iraqi government reporting 16 people, including civilians, killed in the attacks. The Syrian military stated that “many civilian and military martyrs” were killed. The US has increased its involvement in the Red Sea due to the more than 39 attacks launched by Iranian-backed Houthis on commercial and military vessels in the crucial waterway. The US has conducted over 12 strikes in Yemen to deter further Houthi attacks, while the rebel group has vowed to continue its attacks as long as Israel is attacking Gaza. A recent strike took place when the US military targeted six anti-ship cruise missiles it claimed were preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea. The US attributed last weekend’s drone attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group suspected to include Kataib Hizbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia, as well as other militants responsible for attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” a network of militant groups that includes the Houthis in northern Yemen and Hizbollah in Lebanon.
