(CNN) -- The airstrikes carried out by the United States last week against Houthi rebellion targets in Yemen could only dismantle under one-third of the Iran-funded group's total offensive ability, as declared by a US official to CNN. As a result, the group maintains most of its capacity to strike ships in the Red Sea.
Despite launching a considerable number of attacks last week, which included 150 precision-guided munitions fired at nearly 30 locations, Houthis still retain roughly three-fourths of their ability to assault commercial vessels on international maritime paths in the Red Sea's southern region and the Gulf of Aden, the official further noted.
On Monday, the limited impact of the US-led airstrike operation was unveiled when a Houthi-launched missile hit an American-owned freighter in the Red Sea. This incident appeared to be the first-ever successful attack by the rebels on a ship owned or controlled by the United States.
The airstrike operation carried out last week aimed to destroy or damage 93% of the selected targets and, according to several US officials, it succeeded. However, they publicly admitted that it minimally affected the Houthis' ability to continue attacking international shipping.
"We delivered a message and achieved a certain level of degradation, but we still expect a response and don't believe we have substantially deterred their military efforts," a US official stated regarding the attacks.
Last week's limited success illustrates the delicate balance the Biden administration is attempting to maintain in the Middle East - a region on the brink of an open war due to tensions between Iran-backed groups and the US and Israel.
Washington has carefully avoided involving Houthi attacks and other Iran-supported groups in its ongoing war with the Hamas terrorist group in Israel.
Disturbance in Global Trade
Since November, the Houthi fighters, significantly supported by Iran in terms of arms and otherwise, have executed numerous retaliatory attacks against international shipping in response to Israel's war in Gaza. These attacks have caused disruptions in global trade, prompting some of the world's largest shipping companies to avoid the shipping route, adding thousands of kilometers and potentially millions of dollars to international maritime routes by navigating around the African continent instead of through the Suez Canal.
Senior officials of the Biden administration insist that Friday's operation against the Houthis succeeded in its mission of degrading the militant group's capacities.
"This was not a signaling exercise," said National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, during a press meet on Friday. "This was designed to disrupt and degrade Houthi military capabilities."
The numerous targets that the US attacked on Friday, which included control and command nodes, ammunition, deployment systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems, were specifically chosen to mitigate the Houthis' ability to target vessels in the Red Sea, as Pentagon officials noted. By design, there were minimal Houthi casualties.
"This operation wasn't necessarily about casualties; it was about degradation. The sole target was their capability that hinders... the freedom of navigation in international waters, and we are confident that we did a great job," stated Lieutenant General Douglas Sims II, the Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
And the United Kingdom, who participated in Friday's attacks, insisted that they were an act of "self-defense" intended to "deescalate tensions and restore the stability in the region."
The New York Times was the first to report the damage assessment caused by the airstrikes.
Careful Calibrations by Iran
Declassified US intelligence reveals that Iran has been deeply involved in coordinating Houthi attacks against commercial ships and merchant vessels, including providing information on cargo ships passing through the waterway.
US intelligence services believe that Iran is carefully calibrating its response to Israel's war in Gaza, allowing and even encouraging its subsidiary groups to impose costs on Israeli and American interests in the region, while refraining from engaging in activities that could trigger a direct confrontation with Iran.
US officials fear a miscalculation by any of the parties, though none of the major parties (Iran, Israel, and the United States) desire a broader war. This concern is particularly acute when it comes to the Houthis, who are both deeply ideological in their hatred of Israel and one of the most operationally independent Iranian subsidiary groups.
Closure of a Crucial Trade Route
Analysts believe that a prolonged closure of the waterway, which connects the Suez Canal, could paralyze global supply chains and increase the prices of manufactured goods at a crucial time in the fight to defeat inflation. The Suez Canal accounts for 10% to 15% of global trade, including oil exports, and 30% of global...
