Pompeo: 'Cannot Allow' Houthi Impunity After Deadly Ship Attacks

By Kamaran Aziz

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo has issued a stark warning that America “cannot allow” Houthi “terrorists to continue to operate with impunity,” following a Wall Street Journal report detailing a devastating 48-hour attack in which the Iran-backed group sank two cargo ships while no allied warships were available to help.

In a commentary posted to his official X account, Pompeo shared the report and cautioned that while Iran may be weakened, its proxies remain a significant danger.

“Reminder: their patrons in Iran may be on the ropes, but the threat from the Houthis hasn’t gone away,” Pompeo wrote.

Reminder: their patrons in Iran may be on the ropes, but the threat from the Houthis hasn’t gone away.

America cannot allow these terrorists to continue to operate with impunity.https://t.co/0cJKWGX90m

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) July 12, 2025

The incident he referenced was described by The Wall Street Journal as the Houthis’ “most complex and violent attack yet on Red Sea shipping.” The report detailed how two merchant ships, the Magic Seas and the Eternity C, fought off repeated attacks for more than 48 hours using rocket-propelled grenades, missiles, and drones, resulting in both ships sinking, at least three crew members killed, and others taken hostage.

According to the Journal, an officer from Cosmoship Management, the operator of the Eternity C, desperately tried to get assistance from the British navy and a European naval task force but was told there were no ships in the area. A senior U.S. official, a British navy spokeswoman, and the EU’s naval mission all confirmed to the newspaper that their navies did not have ships nearby.

The assault on the Magic Seas began with four or five small boats exchanging gunfire with the ship’s security team before escalating to include a missile strike and four drone boats, the Journal reported, citing information from the Joint Maritime Information Center, a U.S.-U.K. naval operation. After the crew abandoned ship, Houthi fighters boarded the vessel, set explosive charges, and sank it, a process shown in a video released by the group.

The attack on the Eternity C unfolded similarly, with multiple strikes disabling the ship. In an audio recording of a distress call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, an operator can be heard yelling, “Mayday, mayday, mayday, we are under attack.”

The ship’s security team eventually ran out of ammunition, and the crew abandoned the sinking vessel. The Houthis later said they had picked up several crew members, whom the U.S. Mission to Yemen described as having been kidnapped.

The attacks were the first successful Houthi strikes on commercial shipping since November and came two months after a cease-fire was struck with the group. A senior U.S. official told the Journal that as long as the Houthis are not shooting at American ships, the U.S. considers the cease-fire to still be in place, and a Defense Department spokeswoman said the U.S. hasn’t changed its “force posture.”

This lack of military presence has left shippers vulnerable, according to Christopher Long, a former British naval officer who told The Wall Street Journal, “As we speak today, you are on your own.”

The Houthis stated they would continue to attack ships linked to Israel until the war in Gaza ends. According to the Journal, both Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged ships had links to Israel: the Magic Seas visited in December 2023, and the operator of the Eternity C controls another ship that visited in June.

The devastating Houthi attacks, and the subsequent warning from a high-profile figure like Mike Pompeo, expose a critical gap in the international strategy for securing one of the world's most vital maritime trade routes.

The Wall Street Journal's detailed account reveals two key realities. First, the Houthis' capabilities have evolved, allowing them to conduct sustained, complex, and lethal operations that can overwhelm a commercial vessel's private security.

Second, despite the presence of international naval task forces in the region, their resources are spread thin, creating dangerous vulnerabilities where help may not be available. The stark statement from a security expert that shippers are "on their own" underscores a perception of abandonment in the most perilous areas.

Pompeo’s intervention directly challenges the current U.S. policy framework. His call to end the Houthis' "impunity" stands in sharp contrast to the official U.S. position, which, according to the Journal's report, maintains the cease-fire as long as American assets are not targeted. This highlights a fundamental policy debate: should the U.S. and its allies act as a global maritime police force protecting all commercial shipping, or should they focus more narrowly on protecting their own national interests?

Furthermore, the attacks demonstrate the enduring threat of Iran's proxy network.

Even as Pompeo notes that Tehran may be "on the ropes" following direct military pressure, the Houthis have shown they possess the capability and political will to act independently to disrupt global trade.

This illustrates the complex nature of the proxy challenge, where weakening the patron does not automatically neutralize the threat posed by its well-armed and motivated allies. The incident forces a strategic reckoning for the U.S. and its partners on how to effectively counter a persistent threat that has proven it can inflict significant damage with or without a robust international response.