By Muammar al-Eryani, Minister of Information, Republic of Yemen

The author says Red Sea ship attacks start on land: as long as the Houthis hold Yemeni territory and coast outside state institutions, navies can intercept missiles and drones but cannot stop the next wave.

Geography at Bab el-Mandeb, plus Iranian backing, turns an internal militia into a risk for insurance, energy, and trade. A warship can protect a vessel; only Yemeni state control of ports and shoreline shrinks the launch space.

Four priorities: treat restoring Yemeni sovereignty as part of maritime strategy; link sea patrols to cutting supply and finance networks; invest in Yemeni coast guard, navy, customs, and courts so security lasts after foreign ships leave; and support reclaiming territory used to regenerate the threat—not endless rotation of destroyers.

Every time the Houthi militia targets a vessel in the Red Sea, one reality becomes increasingly difficult to ignore: The threat that emerged at sea began on land.

Before a missile or drone ever reaches a shipping lane, an entire chain of activity has already taken place — smuggling, storage, assembly, technological development, the movement of launch platforms through areas beyond state control, and ultimately a military decision taken by an armed militia that operates outside state institutions and beyond Yemen’s national and international obligations.

Experience over the past several years has demonstrated that international naval deployments and interception capabilities can protect vessels and disrupt attacks. What they cannot do on their own is eliminate the source of the threat.

That distinction should fundamentally reshape the way Red Sea security is approached.

The strategic question can no longer be limited to: How do we protect ships when the Houthis launch missiles and drones?

It must become: How do we eliminate the capability that allows the Houthis to generate that threat and use Yemeni territory as a platform to endanger international navigation?

There can be no sustainable security in the Red Sea while the Houthi militia operates outside the institutions of the state. Ending the Houthi threat and restoring the sovereignty and authority of the Yemeni state over its territory, coastline and........

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