Russia’s recent moves in challenging the United States especially in Yemen and Afghanistan has sent this clear message to Washington that Moscow is still as powerful a rival to the West as the Soviet Union was during the Cold War era.
Russia’s support for Yemen’s Houthis against US interests!
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, July 19, quoting American officials that US intelligence agencies believe Russia plans to send advanced anti-ship missiles to Yemen’s Houthis in retaliation for Washington’s support for Ukraine.
According to this report, Washington is trying behind the scenes and through a third country to dissuade Russia from transferring arms to the Houthis, but these efforts have not yet been fruitful.
Meanwhile, Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, recently admitted that the US-led operation to prevent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea “has failed”. In a confidential letter to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Kurila called for potentially stronger military action and a more comprehensive approach that would increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Houthis. “If we continue this way, the US military will die,” he wrote in the letter.
The United States and other countries, notably the United Kingdom, have carried out extensive airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen to prevent the group from attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea. But these measures have not been successful and Moscow knows it very well.
Middle East Eye reported in June that Saudi Arabia had formally requested Russia to stop providing anti-ship cruise missiles to the Houthis. However, according to the assessment of American intelligence services, Moscow has reconsidered its decision to arm the Houthis after confirming that Kiev used US-made weapons to attack targets inside Russia last month.
Washington was warned of the risks before!
Putin had warned about this before. Back in June, he said that Washington’s policy towards Ukraine could lead Moscow to arm the enemies of the United States. Currently, according to two US officials, Russia has not yet transferred any missiles to the Houthis, but representatives of the Yemeni rebels have been seen in Moscow. According to these officials, the transfer of weapons from Russia to Yemen can pass through the smuggling routes in Iran and reach the Houthis.
Washington believes that Iran supplies the Houthis with a lot of ammunition. The Israeli army has also claimed that a drone launched by the Houthis that hit Tel Aviv on Friday, July 19, killing one person and injuring several others, was made by Iran.
But as the WSJ report noted, the ammunition provided by Russia can initiate a qualitative leap in the offensive capabilities of the Houthis, a new development that would surely go against US interests in the entire Middle East, particularly in the Red Sea.
