The U.S. and its allies have weighed striking Yemen’s Houthi militants after telling them to either halt their attacks on ships in the Red Sea or face unspecified action

If diplomacy fails, the US and its allies will have to carefully “choose options that are clearly defensible” and which target the Houthis’ ability to continue disrupting Red Sea navigation while “avoiding getting involved in a regional conflict,” says Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Targeted Strikes
🔶️ These would be focused on eliminating or degrading the Houthis’ ability to fire ballistic missiles at ships and shipping lanes by striking launch sites, radars, missile warehouses and other supporting infrastructure and logistics. Since mid-November, the Houthis have fired more than 100 drones and ballistic missiles in two dozen separate attacks, according to the Pentagon. More than 15 vessels have been targeted.

Major Offensive
🔶️ Most Yemeni factions that have been fighting the Houthis since they captured the capital Sanaa nearly a decade ago, alongside some regional backers such as the United Arab Emirates, favor strong retaliation. That includes re-designating the Houthis as terrorists, targeting their finances and launching broader military action if necessary. Some say ousting the Houthis from the port city of Al-Hudaydah is the only way to restore calm to the Red Sea.

🔶️ Many blame the Houthis’ coastal presence on the pressure exerted by the US and other Western powers on anti-Houthi forces, as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to halt a major offensive in 2018 to recapture Al-Hudaydah on humanitarian grounds.