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The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) in Bahrain. Fifth Fleet/NAVCENT is a component command of, and reports to, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
USS Carney (DDG-64) is the 14th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The guided-missile destroyer is the first to be named after Admiral Robert Carney, who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower administration.
USS Mason (DDG-87) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named in honor of the Black crewmembers who served on board USS Mason (DE-529) during the period of racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces.
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) is a multinational coalition naval task force working under the 34-nation coalition of Combined Maritime Forces and is based in Bahrain established to monitor, board, inspect, and stop suspect shipping to pursue the "War on Terror" and in the Horn of Africa region (HOA) includes operations in the North Arabia Sea to support operations in the Indian Ocean. These activities are referred to as Maritime Security Operations (MSO).
United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the United States Fifth Fleet and several other subordinate task forces, including Combined Task Force 150, Combined Task Force 158 and others.
Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been embroiled in tense relations with the U.S. and its allies. Following the overthrow of the American-backed Shah and a hostage crisis, both countries severed relations. Since then, both countries have been involved in numerous direct confrontations, diplomatic incidents, and proxy wars throughout the Middle East, which has caused the tense nature of the relationship between the two to be called an 'international crisis'. Both countries have often accused each other of breaking international law on several occasions. The U.S. has often accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and of illegally maintaining a nuclear program, as well as using strong rhetoric against Israel, of which Iran has questioned its legitimacy and its right to exist while supporting Hamas, an antizionist group in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iran has often accused the U.S. of human rights violations and of meddling in their affairs, especially within the Iranian Democracy Movement.
The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaidi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely from the Houthi tribe.
There are no diplomatic relations that exist between Israel and Yemen and relations between the two countries are very tense. Yemen refuses the admission of people with an Israeli passport or any passport with an Israeli stamp, and the country is defined as an "enemy state" by Israeli law. During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war war, the Iran backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missile attacks against Israel and ships in the Red Sea.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in an ongoing struggle for influence in the Middle East and other regions of the Muslim world. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen; and disputes in Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iraq. The struggle also extends to disputes or broader competition in other countries globally including in West, North and East Africa, South, Central, Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and the Caucasus.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) is a consortium of countries whose official stated aim is the maintenance of order and security in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb, and Southern Red Sea, particularly regarding maritime security of global oil supply routes. It was formed on 16 September 2019 in Bahrain, by the United Kingdom, Australia, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lithuania, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The operational arm of the IMSC is Coalition Task Force SENTINEL.
The grey-zone describes the space in between peace and war in which state and non-state actors engage in competition.
Events in the year 2023 in Yemen.
On 18 October 2023, American military bases in northern Iraq and eastern Syria were struck by three drones. Pentagon officials stated that there were few casualties. On 26 October, the United States Department of Defense said it had conducted attacks on two facilities in eastern Syria linked to IRGC-backed militias in retaliation for the strikes. On 8 November, the US officially reported that Iranian-affiliated militias had carried out more than 40 successful drone and rocket strikes targeting US airbases in Iraq and Syria carried out within three weeks. In addition, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down in international airspace near Yemen by the Houthis.
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the Houthi movement in Yemen, aligned with Hamas, launched attacks targeting Israel. They employed missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), some of which were intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces over the Red Sea using the Arrow missile defense system, ; others fell short of their targets or were intercepted by the United States Navy, the French Navy and the Israeli Air Force.
Galaxy Leader is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier built in 2002 at Stocznia Gdynia in Gdynia, Poland. It is owned by Ray Shipping, a company partly owned by Israeli businessman Rami Ungar.
Operation Prosperity Guardian is a US-led military operation by a multinational coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran-backed militias began in late 2023. It includes the U.S. Navy fighting against drone attacks on American warships and other vessels by armed groups of the Houthi movement. It also includes clashes with other groups and militias, in various nations' territories, who are part of an overall conflict with Iranian proxies and Iran-backed groups.
Between 30 and 31 December 2023, the United States Navy engaged in a naval battle with the Houthi naval forces of the Supreme Political Council in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis attacked the Maersk freighter Maersk Hangzhou and attempted to board her. The US Navy responded and defeated the Houthi naval squadron deployed to take the freighter, although the attack still resulted in the disruption of shipping through the Red Sea as Maersk announced a pause on shipping following the attack.
References
- ↑ "CTF 153: Red Sea Maritime Security". Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ "Combined Task Force 153 Operations". Centcom . Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ "Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Ensuring Freedom of Navigation in the Red Sea". U.S. Department of Defense . 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ "U.S. considers striking Yemeni group". Semafor . 16 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
