Yemen Attacks United States Oil Ship In Latest Escalation
Jose Nino
|
On February 26, 2024, the United States confirmed that one of its oil ships was attacked by Yemen’s Armed Forces and Houthi resistance movement in the Gulf of Aden.
“On 24 February at 11:45 pm (Sanaa time), the Iranian-backed Houthis launched one anti-ship ballistic missile likely targeting the M/V Torm Thor, a US-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil product tanker in the Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM declared in a statement early on February 26 asserting that the missile “impacted the water” and caused no injuries.
The US statement also noted that 2 Yemeni drones were shot down over the Red Sea and that another crashed. CENTCOM declared that the drones “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels.”
Yemen’s Armed Forces made the announcement of the attack in a statement a few hours prior, just after midnight on February 25.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces … carried out an effective military operation in which they targeted the American oil ship TORM THOR in the Gulf of Aden with a number of naval missiles,” it stated, continuing by noting that the Yemeni air force “targeted a number of American warships in the Red Sea with a number of drones.”
“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they will [continue to] confront the American–British escalation with more military operations.”
The US and the UK carried out a brutal campaign against Yemen in January as a response to its naval missions against Israeli shipping in the Red and Arab seas. The US and UK have carried out hundreds of attacks on Yemen since January 12.
Since the US-led punitive campaign kicked off, Yemen has broadened the scope of its naval campaign to target American and British vessels.
Yemen authorities have repeatedly promised that the Anglo-American axis’ campaign will not stop its support for the Palestinian people.
“As long as the Zionist massacres continue in Gaza, we will continue to carry out our [duty],” Yemeni Defense Minister, Major General Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi, declared on February 25.
The Yemeni conflict shows that the US has gotten way too ambitious in its geopolitical ambitions in the Middle East. By blindly attaching itself to Israel, the US is creating more enemies in the Middle East and rest of the world.
This could put countless US service members and even nationals in danger abroad. At the end of the day, the US needs to opt for restraint in foreign policy matters and start retrenching its influence.
Share: