US tries to prevent Russia from equipping Houthis with anti-ship missiles

The new intelligence comes as the top U.S. commander in the Middle East recently warned in a classified letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that military operations in the region are “failing” to deter Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and that a broader approach is needed, U.S. officials said.

The White House has launched a confidential operation to try to prevent Moscow from delivering missiles to the Iran-backed Houthis, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for eight months in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The administration has launched a diplomatic effort through a third country to try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin not to join Iran in supplying weapons to the Houthis, according to U.S. officials, who declined to identify the country.

The combination of intelligence that Moscow may consider providing military support to the Houthis in Yemen and warnings from Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, have raised questions about whether the White House is doing enough to stop their attacks in critical waterways.

An administration official said the central command had been asked to prepare a broader list of potential targets, including specific militants, for possible strikes.

Some U.S. officials, however, say more could have been done to better protect commercial shipping, including striking larger weapons storage facilities, targeting Houthi leaders and choosing targets with somewhat higher potential casualty rates.

A decision by Moscow to arm the Houthis would mark an escalation in the confrontation with Washington, which is being played out mainly over the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow has already raised concerns among U.S. officials by strengthening its ties with North Korea and Iran and by securing Chinese help to bolster Russia’s defense industry.

Some analysts believe the Russians may threaten to send anti-ship missiles to the Houthis to discourage the administration from taking additional steps to help kyiv, such as allowing Ukrainian forces to use weapons from the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, against airfields on Russian soil.

In his letter to Austin, Kurilla called for a stepped-up “whole-of-government” effort against the Houthis, using economic, diplomatic and potentially military pressure to discourage attacks on ships in the Red Sea and a narrow strait known as Bab el-Mandeb off the coast of Yemen, officials said. At least 30 ships have been damaged and two have sunk.

“Many people found the tone of the memo somewhat shocking,” one defense official said. It said, in essence, that “American service members will die if we continue down this path.”

The White House has authorized the military to carry out strikes against Houthi missiles and drones that are about to be launched and has taken other limited measures, which include seven planned military operations.

A second defense official who defended the current policy said the United States and its partners have destroyed “a significant amount of Houthi capabilities,” including hundreds of missiles and launch facilities, hundreds of attack drones, dozens of weapons and equipment storage facilities, numerous command and control facilities, air defense systems, radars and several helicopters.

But some Central Command officials say their forces have been unable to prevent the Houthis from regularly threatening commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb because they have not been authorized to carry out a broader range of strikes.

Houthi attacks continue to disrupt shipping and keep the United States and its allies immobilized, frustrating the Navy’s decades-old mission of keeping critical sea lanes open in the region.

“If you ask the military to restore freedom of navigation and then tell them to just be defensive, it’s not going to work,” one U.S. official said. “This is about protecting ships without addressing the root cause of the problem.”

The Houthis have a diverse arsenal of weapons to attack ships, including attack drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned boats. Most of the drones and missiles were supplied by Iran or use technology provided by Tehran.

But the possibility that Yemeni rebels will receive sophisticated Russian missiles presents a new danger.

“The Houthis have the most robust anti-ship capabilities among Iran’s regional proxy networks,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. “But Russian anti-ship weapons would represent a qualitative leap and add more teeth to the Houthis’ existing maritime threat.”

Middle East Eye, a London-based news site, reported last month that Russia had previously considered supplying anti-ship cruise missiles to the Houthis, but was dissuaded by the Saudis.

Since then, U.S. officials have seen persistent indications that Putin may still provide missiles to the Houthis in retaliation for President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike targets on Russian soil with U.S. weapons.

Last month, Putin explicitly warned that Moscow could supply weapons to America’s adversaries because of the White House’s policy toward Ukraine. “The response can be asymmetrical, and we will think about it,” Putin told reporters at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The nature of the intelligence indicating a possible Russian attempt to arm the Houthis is unclear. Although no missiles have been delivered so far, Houthi representatives have been observed in Russia, two U.S. officials said.

If the missiles are delivered, they could be smuggled through Iranian channels, some U.S. officials say. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Houthis vowed in December to strike any ship heading to Israeli ports. But many of their attacks have targeted civilian ships with no ties to Israel and no scheduled stopovers at Israeli ports, according to a report released in June by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.

U.S. officials say the Houthis and their Iranian backers are using commercial ship-tracking websites to identify and target commercial vessels. The United States has warned companies that provide such data services against allowing the Houthis access to ship information and has also warned foreign governments where these companies are located.

The Houthis have also threatened to attack U.S. Navy ships and those of U.S. allies.

US warships have been confronted with missiles and drones from Yemen. In recent weeks, the Houthis have intensified their campaign, including launching missiles into the Arabian Sea.

Although Kurilla called for an intensified “whole of government” effort, a Biden administration official said some steps have already been taken to complement military actions.

The United States has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities that finance the Houthis, as well as Houthi leaders, the official added. On January 10, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan demanding that the Houthis cease their attacks. On January 17, the United States designated the Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, reversing a decision in February 2021 to remove them from that list.

On Thursday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced sanctions on several individuals and entities, as well as five vessels, “that have played a critical role in financing the Houthis’ destabilizing activities.”

Write to Michael R. Gordon at [email protected] and to Lara Seligman at [email protected]