According to the Houthis, a few days ago, they launched a number of missiles to hit a British cargo ship sailing in the Gulf of Aden, and some of the missiles hit the cargo ship.
Last month, the Houthis struck a U.S. cargo ship. After the victory, the Houthis told the US-British coalition that they would not back down, would not stop their military operations in the Red Sea, and would continue to attack Israeli-related ships until the Israeli army stopped its military operations in Gaza and the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the eyes of the Houthis, their attacks on US-British ships are a legitimate response to the aggression of the US-British coalition forces and support for Palestine in its quest for an independent statehood.
The strategy of the US-UK coalition against the Houthis has also changed, and in addition to maintaining the original military operations, the US-UK coalition has begun to target the backers of the Houthis, that is, Iran.
A few days ago, US officials revealed to the media that the US military carried out cyber warfare against an Iranian ship operating in the Red Sea, and the US military believed that the ship was responsible for sharing intelligence with the Houthis. According to U.S. officials, the Houthis were able to accurately strike U.S. and British ships because of intelligence provided by Iranian ships.
At the end of last month, the U.S. Navy intercepted a cargo ship in the Arabian Sea, which the Pentagon said was the one that Iran transported weapons and ammunition to the Houthis, and the U.S. Central Command even released so-called "evidence" showing the Iranian weapons intercepted by the U.S. military.
The US-British coalition forces are targeting the "real culprit behind the scenes" of the Houthis in an attempt to limit the Houthi military capability at the source, so can this move be effective and can it turn the tide of the war in the Red Sea? Let's put it this way, the effect will be somewhat, but it will not be big, and just such a move will not defeat the Houthis.
The United States and Britain are targeting Iran, apparently believing that the Houthis' military capabilities are based on Iran's aid, and that as long as Iran's aid is cut off, the Houthis will "break themselves." But this is not the case, it is undeniable that judging from the fighting between the US-British coalition and the Houthis, the Houthis do have many Iranian weapons and equipment in their hands, such as various missiles and drones, most of which are Iranian-made.
These Iranian weapons and equipment are just the "killer weapon" of the Houthis to retaliate against the US-British coalition forces, cutting off Iran's aid, and indeed limiting the military capabilities of the Houthis to a certain extent. However, there is no clear evidence that the Iranian-made weapons in the hands of the Houthis were aided by Tehran.
In fact, the main way for irregular armies such as the Houthis to obtain weapons and equipment has always been not aid from a single country, but through combat capture or the black market. Even if the US-British coalition can block Iran's channels for aiding the Houthis, it will not stop the Houthis from obtaining advanced weapons and equipment from the black market or other channels. In addition, not all weapons in the hands of the Houthis are Iranian, and weapons and equipment from other countries may also flow into the hands of the Houthis.
In addition, weapons and equipment are not all of the Houthi fighting power, and advanced performance and sufficient supply of weapons and equipment are indeed necessary conditions for a military force to form strong combat effectiveness, but it is not a decisive condition. The Houthis have also developed for decades since their emergence, fighting with the Yemeni government army and then going through the "lessons" of the multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia for nine years, and they have not fallen.
This has fully demonstrated that the Houthis have very deep roots in Yemen and even in the entire Middle East, and that this armed organization can exist for decades, and it must have something extraordinary, whether it is the air strikes of the US-British coalition forces or the cutting off of Iran's aid to it, it is absolutely impossible to bring the Houthis to their knees in a short period of time. If the US-British coalition forces want to achieve a substantial victory over the Houthis, they need protracted battles, but can the US-British coalition forces bear the price of a protracted war? Are they willing to bear it?
In fact, the answer to turning the tide of the Red Sea war is that the Houthis have told the US-British coalition that as long as the Israeli army no longer attacks the Gaza region, no longer massacres Palestinian civilians, accepts the "two-state solution" of Palestinian independence and statehood, and at the same time the US-British coalition forces stop attacking the Houthis, the Red Sea will have a chance to return to its former calm and security.
In other words, the key to solving the problem is in the hands of the United States and Britain, and it depends on whether the United States and Britain can persuade Israel. If the US-British coalition continues to fight the Houthis and pins their hopes for limiting the Houthi military capabilities on Iran, the "threat" posed by the Houthis to the US-British coalition cannot be lifted, and the Red Sea cannot return to calm.