12 January 2024
Arab governments around the Middle East, many of them western allies, are watching closely to see what happens next following the US-led airstrikes, reports Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent.
According to the BBC report, most dislike the Iranian-backed Houthis but they find themselves in an awkward position since the Houthis’ support for Hamas and professed defiance of Israel is proving popular with Arab populations.
One important country keeping its head down is Saudi Arabia. The Saudis entered into a disastrous civil war against the Houthis in Yemen in 2015, hoping to bomb them into submission and reverse their illegal takeover of much of the country.
The report further said that it didn’t work and the Houthis’ resilience in the face of years of devastating airstrikes has encouraged them to defy western warnings and continue their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Ideally, what nearly everyone wants now is for that to be the end of it, for no more attacks on shipping and no more need for airstrikes. But the Houthis have vowed to carry out more attacks and to ‘deal a painful blow’ against the US and UK in retaliation for last night.
