The former commander of the US Army's Central Command (CENTCOM), General Joseph Votel, called for escalating pressure on the Houthis and Iran to stop attacks against ships in the Red Sea. He added, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, that the Houthi group’s attacks against navigation in the Red Sea “have become a major problem,” and he advised President Joe Biden’s administration to increase the American military presence in the region and increase the pace of pressure to make the matter “extremely painful” for the Houthis and Iran, which Support them.

Votel pointed out that the United States had recently “deterred” Iran from continuing its militia attacks in Iraq and Syria against American forces and interests in the region, stressing that his country could do that in Yemen as well.

On the other hand, Votel, a four-star general who assumed command of the US Army’s Special Operations, before he was appointed commander of Central Command between 2016 and 2019, saw that “there is no interest for Israel or (Hezbollah)” in a comprehensive confrontation between them, usually. “The best case is to return to the situation that existed before last October 7,” when Hamas launched a stunning attack from Gaza against the settlements and kibbutzim surrounding the Strip. (Details, p. 7) Houthi naval attacks without damage in the wake of US sanctions