REPORT: Houthis Will Be Given Ultimatum to Stop Attacking Maritime Traffic or Else

The US, Britain, and possibly one European state are planning to launch air and missile strikes against Iran's Houthi proxies. According to a source within Britain's defense ministry, a statement will be released in the "coming hours" warning the Houthis to cease and desist in their attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea or face the consequences.

Ahead of the statement, Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said: “If the Houthis continue to threaten lives and trade, we will be forced to take the necessary and appropriate action.”
The Whitehall source said the statement was a “last warning” and if the Houthis failed to stop the attacks, the response would likely be “limited” but “significant”. It is believed allies are currently trying to persuade other European countries to work with the US and the UK to stop the attacks amid fears there could be disastrous economic implications if shipping transiting through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes continues to be disrupted.

This announcement comes as helicopters from the USS Gravely and USS Eisenhower intercepted four boatloads of Houthi pirates attempting to board the Singapore-flagged container ship Maersk Hangzhou, sinking three of them and killing the pirates aboard.

Iranian-backed Houthi small boats attack merchant vessel and U.S. Navy helicopters in Southern Red Sea

On Dec. 31 at 6:30am (Sanaa time) the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours reporting being under attack by four Iranian-backed… pic.twitter.com/pj8NAzjbVF
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 31, 2023

There are signs that this report may be true.

Engaging Houthi pirates in the process of boarding a container ship is a step up the escalation ladder from where we were two weeks ago when US ships seemed reluctant to render much in the way of assistance to ships under attack.

If you look at the number of surface combatants in the Red Sea area of operations on December 23 versus December 29, the general positions remain the same. The newcomer on the scene is a British minesweeping flotilla at the opening to the Suez Canal. This implies that the possibility of the Iranians using mines to close the Mediterranean is being treated seriously.

The Italian frigate Virginio Fasan has moved from the Arabian Sea to the Northern Red Sea while the French frigate Languedoc remains on anti-piracy patrol off the Horn of Africa. Conceivably, the Italians could be the "other" European nation mentioned, though we know how it turns out when Italy begins the war as your ally...

December 23

December 29

The USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall, which carry the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, have departed the Red Sea and are back in the Eastern Mediterranean. This says that no ground operations are planned.

Protestations to the America-Only crowd to the contrary, the safety of maritime traffic everywhere in the world is America's business. We depend on marine traffic to sustain our economy, and allowing a major shipping lane to shut down isn't sound economic or diplomatic policy. A diversion around the Cape of Good Hope adds nearly three weeks to a trip and over a million dollars in extra expenses to a round trip. South Africa's ports are in much the condition you would imagine and are proving incapable of handling the increase in traffic; this further disrupts supply chains.

More to the point, if we aren't willing to use the Navy for its intended purpose (see the Barbary Wars for details), then we need to cut it up for scrap.