“Today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea,” the statement said on Monday.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a statement said that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the new multinational operation to secure shipping routes in the Red Sea.
“Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity,” the Pentagon stated.
Austin's announcement comes as Bader Al-Saif, the founding president of Al-Saif Consulting and assistant profressor at Kuwait University, earlier told Sputnik that any military action by the US could "lead to another wave in expanding the war" in Yemen.
Al-Saif's sentiments were further echoed by Hasan Unal, a professor of political science and international relations at Ankara Baskent University, who underscored that an escalation would "basically open up Pandora's box."