Click to see full-seize image. (U.S. Army)
United States President Donald Trump ordered on March 15 a massive attack against Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen over the group’s attacks on shipping.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Israeli war on the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip. The attack crippled the vital route, which normally carries about 12% of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies into a costly detour around Africa.
In addition, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the Houthis had “attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times” since the start of the war in Gaza.
U.S. strikes on the rebel-held capital Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, al-Bayda and Marib killed 31 people and wounded 101, “most of whom were children and women”, Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis al-Asbahi said in a statement.
“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Do NOT threaten the American People, their President… or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and we won’t be nice about it!”
Trump also warned Iran that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and we won’t be nice about it!”
The strikes were reportedly carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command, which released footage of the strikes, said that “precision strikes” were launched to “defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation”.
The command also described the large-scale attack as the start of a large-scale operation targeting the Houthis across Yemen.
“Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Freedom of Navigation will be restored.”
The Houthis warned that the deadly strikes “will not pass without response,” while the group’s website slammed what it called “U.S.-British aggression” and Washington’s “criminal brutality”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the U.S. had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.”
“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing Yemeni people,” he said in an X post early on March 16.
On March 11, the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm that started in January with the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The U.S. launched hundreds of strikes against the Houthis over the past year, some in collaboration with the United Kingdom. The group was also targeted by the Israeli military more than once in response to direct drone and missile attacks on Israeli territories. All of these attacks failed to deter the group or to degrade its military capabilities.
The campaign order by Trump will not likely fare any better. However, the U.S. could seek other ways to weaken the Iran-backed group, including reigniting the war in Yemen.
On March 14, Yemen government forces, which are backed by Saudi Arabia and allied to the U.S., said that they repelled multiple attacks by the Houthis in Marib and retaliated. And on March 15, Saudi activists reported the death of two soldiers from the kingdom’s military on the border Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen
All in all, the Trump administration appears to be determined to put an end to Houthi attacks on shipping. The group will likely face unprecedented military and political pressure.
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