US attacks in Yemen sharpen Biden’s military and political dilemmas

CNN —

US and British airstrikes against Iran-backed militants in Yemen represent a significant escalation of the conflict in the Middle East – and come despite weeks of efforts by President Joe Biden to head off a wider war.

They occurred at a moment of deep political significance as Biden steps up his reelection campaign – amid fierce Republican criticism of his global leadership skills and foreign policy, especially from his most likely GOP opponent in November, ex-President Donald Trump. While the strikes were not a surprise, given intensified US warnings in recent days, they also took place a day after GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley criticized Biden for being too slow to act to protect US forces and assets in the Middle East.

The strikes follow a worsening barrage of drones and missiles from Houthi rebels targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, a strategic waterway critical to the global economy. Those attacks are part of a pressure campaign against Israel and the US in the region, orchestrated by Iran through its proxies, in reaction to the war in Gaza. That means the US and UK operations carry an extra layer of risk because they essentially targeted the vital interests of the Islamic Republic.

A still from a video shows multiple explosions in Saada province, north of Sanaa, Yemen, on January 12, local time.

US and UK carry out strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen

While the Biden administration is desperate to avoid being sucked into a new Middle East conflict, especially with US troops in the firing line in Iraq and Syria, it had reached a point where action became inevitable. White House demands for a halt to Houthi attacks were being ignored. The credibility of US