Last weekend was an eventful one in the Red Sea. Houthi rebel groups have been mercilessly attacking commercial vessels using the passage with drones, and now they've upped their game by directly attacking a Maersk cargo ship with missiles and attempting to board, despite the Pentagon rolling out "Operation Prosperity Guardian."

This is a conflict that could directly affect us by increasing consumer prices for fuel and goods. Let me explain.

What happened to the Maersk ship?

The Maersk Hangzhou was sailing through the normal route on the Red Sea when on Dec. 30, they were attacked by multiple Houthi missiles and hit by one. American naval ships, the USS Laboon and the USS Gravely, responded to distress calls. Gravely intercepted two missiles meant for the ship.

The following day, the situation grew more dire when the Houthi group got bolder. A squadron of four armed boats came within 20 yards of the Maersk ship and attempted to board. They were held off by on-ship security contractors. This time, helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Gravely responded to the distress call and were engaged by the Houthi. The helicopters returned fire and downed three of the four attacking ships. Ten Houthi crew members died in the attack, and the fourth ship escaped.

Maersk has paused operations in the Red Sea for 48 hours and will decide today whether or not they'll resume use of that route. Other shipping companies, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Evergreen, have already rerouted their cargo around Africa. BP and Euronav have also suspended passage through the Red Sea.

Now Iran is getting involved.

A spokesperson for the Houthi group has warned of "consequences and repercussions" due to the "aggression" of the US. ZeroHedge reports:

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea confirmed on the Yemeni TV channel Al-Masirah that US forces killed ten of its fighters.

"US enemy forces attacked three boats belonging to the Yemeni Naval Forces, which led to the martyrdom and the loss of ten people from the Naval Forces," Sarea said.

The spokesman said its fighters were "performing their humanitarian and moral duty" to deter Israel-related commercial vessels from transiting the Red Sea "in solidarity and support for the Palestinian people."