Earlier this month, Joe Biden was asked if the airstrikes on Yemen were working. “Are they stopping the Houthis? No,” replied the president. “Are they going to continue? Yes.”
There is an obvious logic to the US approach. If it – and its allies – do not show the Houthis and their Iranian backers that there is a price for attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, then there is no reason for its adversaries to halt. That is even more clearly the case when it comes to the attack that killed three US soldiers and injured dozens more in Jordan on Sunday. It has been claimed by Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of Iranian-backed militias; though Tehran denied involvement, Mr Biden blamed “Iran-backed” groups and vowed to respond.
