A Yemeni man carries a rifle as he takes part in march to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on Dec. 2, 2023. Israel and Hamas brushed off international calls to renew an expired truce on Dec. 2 as air strikes pounded militant targets in Gaza and Palestinian groups launched volleys of rockets. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON(Tribune News Service) — A top White House official said the U.S. won’t rule out the possibility of strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which have been blamed for targeting commercial ships, while it focuses now on sanctions and security at sea.
“We have certainly not ruled out the possibility of taking military action — we reserve that right,” Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told the Aspen Security Forum in Washington on Thursday. For the time being, the U.S. will focus on “a maritime coalition to provide reassurance and security for commercial sea lanes,” he said.
“And if there is a decision to escalate against us, we will look at other options,” Finer said.
Finer was speaking in response to questions about increased tension in the Red Sea, where a U.S. warship, the USS Carney, responded to distress calls from three ships that had allegedly been targeted by the Houthis. The U.S. says the Houthis have been enabled by Iran and pose a threat to international commerce and security at sea.
“The Houthis would not be able to do this without the support of Iran,” Finer said. “Would not be able to do it. Would not have the weaponry, would not have the intelligence, would not have the motivation to do this were it not for the role of the IRGC,” he said, using the acronym for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We are quite clear that the Houthis are ultimately responsible, but there is significant role for Iran in these attacks,” he said.
The attacks are the latest in a series against vessels since the rebels in Yemen issued a threat against ships with ties to Israel last month, calling them “legitimate targets.” The USS Carney has shot down some drones as part of what it calls its defense of Israel in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli territory.
“The president has authorized ships to shoot down munitions that pass in the vicinity of our destroyers,” Finer said. Targeting U.S. civilian or military assets “would be a much more severe escalation, but we have not made that calculation.”
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