EU to debate sending naval mission to Red Sea

The proposal -- in the pipeline in Brussels for several weeks -- was mootedbefore US and British forces struck rebel-held Yemen early on Friday.
Any EU effort would seek to complement a US-led coalition, which includesnumerous countries from the bloc, that is already operating in the vitalshipping route, reports BSS.
The details of the size and scope of any EU mission remain to be hammered outand European diplomats said a first discussion would take place in Brusselson Tuesday.
Spain said Friday that it would not take part in any EU naval mission in theRed Sea.
Its defence minister, Margarita Robles, said that "Spain's position on thissubject has always been clear".
The EU last year initially mulled a plan to expand its "Atalanta" missionfocused on protecting shipping off Somalia, but that move was blocked bySpain.
Madrid gave no official reason, but Spanish media reported that domesticpolitics was behind the refusal, with a hard-left partner in Spain'sgoverning coalition, the Sumar party, generally opposed to US foreign policy.
Diplomats said EU foreign ministers could strike an agreement on establishingthe new naval mission at the coming meeting in Brussels.
The Iran-backed Huthis have carried out a growing number of attacks on whatthey deem to be Israeli-linked shipping in the key international trade routesince October 7, when Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel sparked the warwhich is still raging in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The rebels, who have seized control of a major portion of Yemen since a civilwar erupted in the country in 2014, are part of a regional Iran-backed "axisof resistance" against Israel and its allies.
The pre-dawn air strikes Friday by the United States and Britain add toescalating fears of wider conflict in the region.
The strikes targeted an airbase, airports and a military camp, the Huthis'Al-Masirah TV station said, with AFP correspondents and witnesses reportingthey could hear heavy strikes in Hodeida and Sanaa.