Political expert Ahmed Al-Sayed al-Najjar said that several giant shipping companies are suspending the transit of their tankers through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, a move he slammed as “a despicable act of blackmail against Egypt.”
This action aims to push Egypt to join the coalition formed by the US to confront Yemeni naval strikes on ships heading to Israel, he clarified in a statement to RT Arabic.
“These tankers are not targeted at all,” he stressed, explaining that Yemen has clearly announced that only Zionist ships or those heading to Israel are targeted until Israel’s criminal war of genocide in Gaza ends.
These companies did not take any action or adopt any stance against Zionist war crimes, he said, but are only rising up against blackmail, which no one should respond to, and they will resort back to the canal, forced by the difference in cost and time saved by passing through the canal compared to circling the Cape of Good Hope.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the launch of Operation “Prosperity Guardian,” which included several countries to confront Huthi attacks against ships heading to Israel in the Red Sea.
Many companies have also announced their intention to temporarily avoid routes through the Red Sea.
Amongst these are the Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk, the Belgian shipping company Euronav, the French transport group CMA CGM, and the German international shipping and container transportation company Hapag-Lloyd.
