EUNAVOR ASPIDES

The decision to extend Aspides operational life from the initial two years when it was formally established as a European bloc mission in February 2024 was made public on Monday, 23 February, in an EU Council statement. The decision follows a strategic review of the Larissa, Greece, headquartered operation. The extension will be funded by €15 million to cover common costs of the three naval unit operation with a further review set to take place ahead of the new Aspides mandate ending on 28 February 2027.

On Thursday, October 16, 2025, the Bundestag extended the Bundeswehr mission in the Red Sea by one year. … Instead of up to 700 soldiers as previously, only up to 350 soldiers may now be deployed, … .

The UN Secretary-General issued a statement on Friday condemning the latest Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. According to news reports, the Yemen-based rebel group – which has been battling the internationally-recognised Government for control of the country since the early 2010s – attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C on Monday and again on Tuesday, causing it to sink on Wednesday morning.

Growing collaboration between al Shabaab and the Houthis is enabling both militant groups and contributing to heightened maritime and land-based threats on both sides of the Gulf of Aden.

Late Tuesday evening, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X that "following recent discussions and contacts... with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides". The two sides are the US and the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which is designated a terror organization by the US and others.

The United States has struck more than 100 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen since beginning the latest phase of its air campaign against the Iran-backed rebels last month, a US defense official said Wednesday. American forces have hammered the Houthis with near-daily air strikes since March 15 in a bid to end the threat they pose to civilian shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Yemen’s Houthis have announced that they will resume attacks on Israeli ships after their deadline for Israel to allow the resumption of aid deliveries into Gaza passed.

The Council today decided to prolong the mandate of the EU maritime security operation to safeguard freedom of navigation in relation to the Red sea crisis (EUNAVFOR ASPIDES) until 28 February 2026, with a reference amount of over €17 million for the period. This decision was taken following the strategic review of the operation.

U.S. forces carried out airstrikes Wednesday against Houthi militant weapons storage sites in Yemen, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. The strikes, conducted by B-2 bombers, targeted weapons the Houthis have used in a yearlong campaign of attacks against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that have disrupted major sea shipping routes.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an explosive-loaded drone that crashed into one ship Tuesday in the Red Sea and a missile that exploded against another. The attacks are the rebels’ first assaults on commercial shipping in weeks as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a regional conflict.