Red Sea Shipping Crisis : What’s at Stake?

Abstract

Since October 2023, the Houthi, an Iranian-backed Zaydi Shi’a militia operating under the alias Ansar Allah, have engaged in violent operations against international shipping in the vital Red Sea trade route using Iranian missiles, drones, and marine vessels. After Hamas’ incursion into Israel and subsequent vicious assaults on military and civilian targets, the Houthi initiated drone and missile attacks from their Yemeni territory, the majority of which wereintercepted by Israeli air defenses. Subsequently, the group directed its attacks towards vessels that it claimed had ties to Israel. The attacks have evolved into indiscriminate assaults, which have caused an escalating armed exchange in the Red Sea and its environs, and the potential exists for escalation into a more extensive geographical conflict.