This week, news broke that journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal group chat where top U.S. officials – including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – were discussing active military operations. The chat revealed details about upcoming U.S. strikes in the Middle East against the Houthis. Republican Rep. Don Bacon put the implications of the leak bluntly “None of this should have been sent on non-secure systems,” he said. “Russia and China are surely monitoring his unclassified phone.” 

The Houthis are an Iran-backed militant group based in northern Yemen. They have been fighting a civil war since 2014, when they overthrew Yemen’s internationally recognized government and seized the capital, Sanaa. Since then, they have launched hundreds of drone and missile attacks, often targeting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and now international shipping.

They are not operating with improvised weapons. The Houthis now possess a range of advanced, Iranian-supplied systems, including ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges exceeding 1,500 kilometers. They use long-range drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and even naval drones – remote-controlled explosive vessels – to strike targets in the Red Sea and beyond. Their reach now extends far outside Yemen’s borders, making them a credible military threat to international shipping and U.S. assets in the region.

The war they sparked has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. By the end of 2021, an estimated 377,000 people had died. 

While the internal battles in Yemen have simmered down somewhat, the Houthis expanded their campaign in the Red Sea after Hamas October 7th attacks, claiming to be doing so in solidarity with Gaza. 

These attacks have disrupted one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and target ships from various countries including the U.S. (but not those from China and Russia). Roughly 10 to 15 percent of global trade moves through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait near Yemen. In early 2024, container shipping rates from Shanghai to Europe jumped 256%, and traffic through the nearby Suez Canal fell by more than 40% in response.

That is why the United States launched targeted strikes on Houthi weapons systems, drone facilities, and radar sites. The goal is to reduce the group’s ability to threaten global trade and prevent a broader regional crisis.