Early last Thursday morning, the USS Carney, a US Navy guided missile destroyer, was in the northern Red Sea when its radar detected three cruise missiles apparently launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The missiles’ target was unclear but they were heading north, so it was “potentially” Israel. Within a very short time, the Carney had destroyed them all.
These were the first shots fired by the US in defence of Israel in the current conflict. The Pentagon press secretary, Brig Gen Pat Ryder, later told reporters the intervention was “to send a strong message intended to deter a wider conflict” and “regional escalation”.
