Biden is weighing direct military strikes against Houthi locations in Yemen to avoid the $2 million per shot cost of downing the rebel group's attack drones to protect Red Sea trade routes

The Biden administration could take a step further to look at a different strategy in its battle with Yemen's Houthi rebels after it emerged that the cost of shooting down one of the group's drones over the Red Sea would be around $2 million .

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced a 10-nation coalition that would serve as a deterrent against terror attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea Corridor.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the pact – which also includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain – early Tuesday in Bahrain.

Ships transiting the Red Sea are being attacked by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. The disruption could have a negative impact on Western economies during the festive season.

In late November, Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles at a US Navy destroyer off the coast of Yemen, in a “significant escalation” with US forces.

The cargo ship Galaxy Leader seized by the Houthis off the coast of Al-Salif port on the Red Sea in Hodeidah province, Yemen, December 5, 2023

Last week, the USS Mason pictured here provided assistance to the Strinda, a ship struck by a Houthi missile

Last week, a Norwegian-flagged tanker was hit by a cruise missile launched by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea in their latest attack on ships protesting Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

The US military's Central Command reported two more attacks on commercial ships on Monday.

The US Military Central Command said the anti-tank cruise missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen hit the Strinda and the destroyer USS Mason provided assistance.

Now it has emerged that the Pentagon will 'offer' Biden the option of a 'heavy response' to the Iran-backed militia. In response, National Security Council adviser John Kirby said he “will not telegraph any blows one way or the other,” reports Bloomberg.

The Pentagon has described Iran's role with the Houthi group as “significant,” providing military and intelligence support.

Any US attack on the militia could bring a standoff with Iran even closer.

The severity of the recent attacks, several of which damaged ships, has prompted several shipping companies to order their ships to shelter in place and not enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the security situation can be addressed .

Houthi rebels say they will not give up their attacks. The photo shows Huthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree making a statement on the group's recent attacks.

Last month, a Houthi military helicopter flew over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea

Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond is among British warships now helping to protect the vital shipping route through the Red Sea

On Wednesday, Trump's former national security adviser and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton argued in the Washington Post that the Biden administration was showing weakness in its treatment of the Houthis.

Bolton also quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying this recently The New York Times that the US must face the 'consequences' of its support for Israel.

“Not only is the Biden administration failing to establish even minimal deterrence; it appears unable to think strategically about U.S. interests in the region, dismaying friends and allies alike,” Bolton wrote.

He called the coalition a 'purely defensive measure and therefore insufficient'.

Bolton also mocked the administration's attempts at diplomacy, pointing out that neither Iran nor the Houthis themselves appear interested.

The former ambassador also said the Houthis should be re-designated as a terrorist organization.

Several other countries have also agreed to be involved in the deterrent operation but prefer not to be named publicly, a defense official said on condition of anonymity.

The mission will be coordinated by the already existing Combined Task Force 153, which was established in April 2022 to enhance maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

There were 39 member states in CTF 153, but officials were working to determine which of them would participate in this latest effort.

The United States has also called on the United Nations Security Council to take action against the attacks.

In a letter to council members, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Houthi attacks targeting commercial vessels legally transiting international waterways continued to threaten “navigation rights and freedoms, international maritime security and international trade.”

The fifteen council members discussed the Houthi threat behind closed doors on Monday but took no immediate action.