The US aircraft carrier "USS Dwight Eisenhower" crosses the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on November 26, 2023.

On October 7, the Middle East was set ablaze in an outburst of hatred, violence and destructive terror. The wall encircling Gaza gave way, as did in their day, the Great Wall of China, the Maginot Line and the Bar-Lev Line in October 1973 [during the Yom Kippur War].

Western forces are trying to contain the conflict. They are reduced to the defensive in their vulnerable land bases, as in 1983 in Beirut [the Drakkar attacks cost the lives of 58 French paratroopers], subjected to daily drone and missile attacks in Iraq and Syria. The US Air Force, based in Incirlik, Turkey, is paralyzed by tensions with its host country.

Since withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2021, American forces have given the impression of losing interest in the Middle East. October 7 marks a major comeback by sea. Historically, the US Navy has always accompanied Israel to prevent surprises. The Israelis were not always happy about this, at Suez in 1956, but also in 1967, when they sank the American spy ship Liberty to signal that they were still in control of military action. For years, American units have been present in the Combined Task Force, in response to piracy and Iranian attacks on Israeli merchant ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

Naval reinforcements are being deployed to the north and south. In the Mediterranean, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald-Ford and the submarine Ohio have been sailing past Syrian and Lebanese waters since October 10 to ward off threats, monitor the situation and support the eastern flank. This is also to prevent action by the Russian navy, a point made by President Putin when he accused the United States of setting the Middle East on fire with its aircraft carriers. In the Persian Gulf, the USS Dwight-Eisenhower stands face to face with Iran and Iraq. Chinese, French and British naval forces are in the area.

Provocations in the Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels have declared war on Israel. They widened the conflict by firing missiles and drones in the direction of Eilat, intercepted in the Red Sea by American destroyers, prompting Israel to deploy missile corvettes in the Gulf of Aqaba. They warned that their armed forces will not hesitate to focus on any Israeli vessel in the Red Sea, those that approach it or those that disconnect their identification system.

Since November 18, they have intercepted the roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Galaxy-Leader near the Bab Al-Mandab [the strait separating Djibouti from Yemen], using the tactics of Iranian Revolutionary Guards trained to attack Israeli oil tankers, and struck the oil tanker Pacific-Zircon with drones. On November 26, individuals seized the chemical tanker Central-Park, only to be dislodged by the USS Mason, which was attacked in retaliation by missiles from Yemen. The incident was "attributed" to Somali pirates who had disappeared from the area several years earlier and were not in possession of missiles. On December 3, three merchant ships sent out distress signals after Houthi missiles and drones were fired at them and then shot down by the USS Carney.

You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.

Opinions