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The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.
In the latest example of rising tensions between Iran-backed militias and US forces in the Middle East, a US Navy destroyer on Sunday shot down several Houthi-launched drones that were attacking Israeli commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Houthi rebels, who are backed by Tehran, have taken control over much of Yemen through a brutal decade-old civil war. In October, the Houthis declared support for Hamas in the Gaza conflict, launching several missiles toward Israel — and dropping a slick music video for good measure.
In the weeks after Oct. 7, as the US moved more military assets into the region to discourage Iran from escalating, Tehran-backed militias rapidly increased small-scale attacks against US troops stationed in Iraq and Syria, prompting Washington to respond with airstrikes of its own.
The latest incident underscores the risk that the war in Gaza could flare into a regional conflict pitting Israel and the US against Iran and Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, various militias based in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen.