The Red Sea is safe for international shipping, but only for ships not associated with Israel, the spokesman for the Yemeni Houthi movement, Mohamed Abdul Salam, said in an interview with the Arabic edition of Euronews.
He stressed that the threat remains only for ships flying the flag of Israel, owned or affiliated with Israeli companies, or sailing to ports of the country, which, according to Salam, is conducting a US-backed genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that the international naval coalition, led by the United States under the name “Prosperity Guardian,” has failed even before it started.
There is no fundamental change in the operational reality in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The goal of this coalition is to protect only Israel, not the security of international shipping corridors, Mohamed Salam said on Thursday.
According to Salvatore R. Mercogliano, a former US Navy sailor, maritime historian, and creator of the popular Youtube channel “What’s Up with Shipping?”, cited by gCaptain, so far the US forces in Operation “Prosperity Guardian” have only provided escort in the Red Sea to commercial ships flying the American flag, all of which are part of the maritime security program and transporting cargo for the Department of Defense.
Regarding the withdrawal of Spain, France and Italy and the hesitation of some countries to participate in this alliance, Abdel Salam said that there are “several reasons for this hesitation and they are related to the lack of legitimacy on the part of the United States, whether it is a moral or legal point of view.”
He pointed out that some countries are aware that their ships pass through the waters of the Red Sea daily and that the naval forces of Yemen are in daily contact with these vessels.
The Red Sea is safe, Bab al-Mandab is safe, with the exception of Israeli ships. If some countries want to come to protect Israel, that is their business, Salam stressed. The spokesman said that the United States is provoking the expansion of the conflict.
He said that he sees nothing strange in the announced intentions of Maersk and other companies to resume the passages of their ships in the Red Sea.
“These companies cannot have concerns after their ships do not sail to Israel. All other shipowners who intend to send their ships to Israel should take the Sanaa’s requests very seriously,” warned the Houthi spokesman.
