The Red Sea and the Suez Canal are Europe's main access to the Persian Gulf, yet this key area has been mined by the Houthis. Not long ago, a Saudi Arabian fishing boat reportedly encountered a mine laid by the Houthis in the Red Sea, and despite sending a distress signal and being rescued by the Saudi coalition, the fishing boat still sank after an explosion, and only three crew members were rescued and six others were missing. In order to protect the warships from the accidental bombing, many US warships deployed in the area were urgently evacuated. It is reported that such mines are not very lethal to warships, but they pose a serious threat to cargo ships. The U.S. military has issued a warning to the Houthis to clear all mines they have laid, but so far the Houthis have not responded.
In fact, the US military does not expect the Houthis to heed their warnings. In order to ensure that the sea lanes of European allies are not affected, the US military sent minesweepers to clear mines immediately after the accident. However, the U.S. military remains on high alert because they believe that Iran, the Asian power, is likely to have moved on to the real thing. Iran has always been a supporter of the Houthis, so the US military suspects that the Houthi action to lay mines in the Red Sea may have been instructed by Iran. Although the Houthis are only a militia, they are very powerful, and Saudi Arabia has repeatedly tried to attack the Houthis, but they have been repeatedly thwarted. It can be seen that for Iran, the Houthis are a very useful tool.
Iran is now facing gradual oppression by the United States, but Europe is turning a blind eye to it, which naturally makes Iran extremely unhappy. Iran has taken a series of initiatives to attract European attention and support, but it seems that Iran's plan has not been successful so far, so Iran is likely to use more means to achieve its goals.