Britain’s military is preparing to launch a wave of air strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis creating chaos in the Red Sea, raising the prospect of a significant spiralling of tensions in the region.
Under the plans the UK would join with the US and possibly another European country to unleash a salvo of missiles against pre-planned targets, either in the sea or in Yemen itself, where the militants are based.
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It is understood that the co-ordinated strikes could involve RAF warplanes or HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer which successfully destroyed an attack drone with a Sea Viper missile in the Red Sea this month.
A statement is expected to be released by Britain and the US in the coming days that will warn the Houthis to stop attacking commercial vessels or face the West’s military might.
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.”
A Whitehall source said the statement from Britain and the US represented a “last warning” and that if the Houthis failed to stop the attacks, the response was likely to 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.
The source was unable to confirm which aircraft could be used in the retaliatory action under the plans, although the UK has Typhoons stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, currently carrying out missions over Iraq and Syria. They are there to find any remnants of Isis, although The Times revealed this month that the mission has expanded to spy on Iranian-backed militia believed to be smuggling weapons into Lebanon.
The Houthis, a rebel faction that controls much of Yemen and an ally of Hamas, have carried out a spate of attacks on commercial ships since the terror attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7. According to the Whitehall source, eight of the 20 ships attacked in the 30 days before Christmas were either UK-registered, had British citizens in their crew or carried goods for the UK.
On Sunday one of the world’s major cargo shippers, Maersk, said it would delay sailings through the area for 48 hours after one of its container vessels was attacked on Saturday.
In response to the spate of attacks, Washington launched a multinational force to protect vessels transiting the waterway, although allies are concerned the number of hostile actions are continuing to soar.
Ministers are concerned that “the numbers [of attacks] are cranking up and the feeling is something needs to be done”, said the source, adding that insurance for shipping had gone up tenfold in December and journeys were being delayed which was disrupting supply lines.
Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy commander, said if the Houthis wanted to they could hit “masses of ships” in the Red Sea, and the US-led force that has already been sent would need to be far larger to ensure commercial vessels passing through were protected. “Even then, it wouldn’t be guaranteed. If they went for it, we’d be overwhelmed,” he said.
However, Sharpe said it was not in the Houthi’s interest to provoke a fight back from the US. “It is much better to keep it sub-threshold and slowly drain our resources,” he said.
Details of the possible retaliatory strikes came as the US military said it had shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired towards a container ship by Houthi rebels. Hours later, four boats tried to attack the same ship but US forces opened fire, sinking three of the boats and killing several of the armed crews. A fourth boat escaped.
The US military said the incident marked the 23rd attack from the Yemeni militia on international shipping since November 19. It is the most decisive action taken by the US since the militia claimed to have joined the war in Gaza in support of Hamas.
According to Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on the Middle East, especially Iran and Yemen, the Houthis have both domestic and regional objectives in attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Domestically, they want to mobilise strong pro-Palestinian feelings among the Yemeni population to “shore up their base”.
Regionally, they want to send a strong message that they have emerged as a regional power and as a core player in the Iran-backed “axis of resistance”. “They want to signal support for Hamas and opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza”, he said. Their role in the region presents a “very serious problem”, he said.
They probably assess that the US and its regional partners are keen to avoid an escalation of the war in Gaza into a major regional war, he said. “As a result, the Houthis probably calculate that they can afford to continue striking Israel with missiles and drones and to target shipping in the Red Sea at limited cost to themselves,” he said, adding that it was likely the Houthi efforts to disrupt maritime shipping in the Red Sea will continue.
Their success so far will provide them with “significant leverage” over their adversaries for the foreseeable future, he said.
On Sunday night a UK government spokeswoman said there was planning underway for a “range of scenarios” but no decisions had been made. The spokeswoman said: “The situation in the Red Sea is incredibly serious, and the Houthi attacks are unacceptable and destabilising. As you would expect, while planning is underway for a range of scenarios, no decisions have yet been made and we continue to pursue all diplomatic routes.
“We call for the Iranian-backed Houthi to cease these illegal attacks and we are working with allies and partners to protect freedom of navigation.”
