US building int’l coalition to halt Houthi threat to global shipping

The Biden administration is building an international coalition to halt the threat the Iranian-backed Houthis pose to international shipping routes in the Red Sea, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Israel on Friday.

“We will continue to take every step we deem necessary and appropriate to deal with the threat the Houthis pose,” he said, adding that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would tackle this issue during his visit to Israel and the region next week.

“That response shouldn’t just be [from] the US. It should be a broader coalition of countries working together in concert,” he said.

The Houthis have said they are attacking ships to protest Israel’s military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza, but Sullivan said the issue was much broader, particularly given Iran’s involvement.

“We are building a coalition we are working to ensure and rally the nations of the world, all of whom have an interest in seeing this stop,” Sullivan said. READ MORE