Yemen: On October 31 of the previous year, Yemen established a new rule of engagement with the Americans and the West, following an attack that killed 10 Yemeni naval fighters in the Red Sea.

The United States, accustomed to dominating the Arab region, found Yemen’s stance a challenge to its decades-long hegemony. This shift prompted a forceful response, including the formation of a maritime military coalition and the launch of an aerial assault on Yemen on January 12.

While the Americans sought to portray this campaign as a deterrent, the reaction from Sana’a surpassed their expectations. For the first time, the tide turned against American dominance in the region. Yemeni forces targeted Western commercial and military ships, including vessels linked to Israeli ports, expanding their focus to warships, thereby escalating the confrontation. This forced Western naval forces to adopt a defensive posture, highlighting a miscalculation of Yemen's maritime capabilities under its new leadership.

American ignorance of Yemeni advancements was evident. Bill LaPlante, an expert in missile systems and US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, remarked to The Cradle: "Houthi missiles are capable of astonishing feats... Their capabilities were beyond anything I had imagined." Similarly, The National Interest reported on November 29, 2024, that the missiles used by Yemen to target US naval assets in the Red Sea demonstrated remarkable capabilities that should not be underestimated.

Over the past year, Yemen’s maritime confrontations with the US and its allies, though limited in number, inflicted significant blows to the prestige of Western naval forces. On November 27, 2023, Yemen launched ballistic missiles at the USS Mason in the Gulf of Aden. Subsequent escalations targeted vessels heading to Israeli ports, including US-affiliated commercial and warships.

On December 23, 2023, the USS Laboon was struck by Yemeni drones in the Red Sea. This marked the start of a broader maritime campaign that saw American vessels, including advanced destroyers and frigates, suffer repeated attacks.

In January 2024, Yemeni forces launched a large-scale joint operation involving ballistic missiles, naval projectiles, and drones, targeting a US support ship aiding Israeli vessels. This was declared a direct response to the killing of 10 Yemeni naval personnel by an American airstrike. Yemen’s statement reinforced its commitment to retaliation against any aggression.

Despite efforts by the US, UK, and other allied nations to safeguard Israeli-bound shipping lanes, Yemen’s growing maritime capabilities disrupted these plans. Attacks on American ships escalated, culminating in confrontations like the January 24 engagement in the Gulf of Aden, where Yemeni forces reportedly damaged an unnamed US warship.

The campaign extended to British vessels, with the oil tanker Marlin Luanda targeted on January 26, just days after the British Defense Secretary claimed that Yemeni threats had been "weakened." That same day, the USS Carney was struck by a ballistic missile, underscoring Yemen's refusal to back down.

The frequency and intensity of these operations exposed the limitations of the so-called "Prosperity Coalition," leaving American and Israeli forces reeling. By February 4, Yemeni forces targeted the Israeli cargo ship MSC Sky in the Arabian Sea, damaging its containers and highlighting Yemen’s readiness to escalate as long as US and Israeli attacks continued, particularly in Gaza.

This series of confrontations reflects Yemen’s strategic shift in challenging Western dominance and asserting its sovereignty, reshaping the balance of power in the region.

Translated by Almasirah English website