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On Sunday, ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck three commercial ships, while a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during an hourslong assault, the U.S. military said. It marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthi attacks imperil traffic on one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes and with it global trade overall. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says 8.8 million barrels of oil a day are shipped through the Red Sea and the narrow straits of the Bab al-Mandab within range of the Houthis, making it one of world trade’s most crucial chokepoints. The ships carry oil and natural gas from the Gulf to Europe, the United States and China. The Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab are also part of a vital route for commercial shipping overall, carrying millions of tons of agricultural products and other goods to markets yearly. Sullivan said that while the Houthis had “their finger on the trigger," the group's Iranian sponsors were ultimately responsible. As US, allies contemplate creating a naval task force to protect shipping in Red Sea in the wake of Houthi attacks, FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani is joined by Abdulghani Al-Iryani is a Senior Researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies where he focuses on the peace process, conflict analysis and transformations of the Yemeni state. Al-Iryani has more than three decades of experience as a political analyst and development consultant.

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