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United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on April 7 that the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen had “a bad three weeks” and “it’s about to get worse” for the Iran-backed group.
Hegseth was referring to ongoing U.S. large-scale operation against the Houthis which began on March 15 on orders from President Donald Trump in response to the group’s renewed attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Speaking during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hegseth said that the U.S. has destroyed underground facilities, weapons manufacturing sites, bunkers, troops, and air defense assets of the Houthis since the start of the operation.
“We are not going to relent,” said Hegseth, “and it’s only going to be more unrelenting until the Houthis declare they will stop shooting at our ships.”
The defense secretary added that the U.S. has been “very clear” to the Iranians that they must stop providing support for the Houthis.
Trump, who headed the White House meeting, also claimed the operation against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”
Despite the American optimism, the Israeli Defense Forces announced late on April 7 that it had intercepted a drone launched at Israel “from the east.”
The drone was shot down before crossing into Israel, the military said in a brief statement, adding that no sirens were sounded “according to protocol.”
The Houthis quickly took responsibility for the attack, claiming in a statement that they had hit a “military target” near the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv with a Yafa suicide drone.
The Yafa is a larger version of an Iranian suicide drone codenamed by the United States military and intelligence as KAS-04. The Houthis have been operating several versions of the KAS-04 dubbed Samad-1, 2, 3 and 4 for more than six years now.
The Houthis also claimed in the same statement to have targeted two U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea with several cruise missiles and suicide drones.
Overnight, some 22 U.S. strikes hit Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. The al-Masirah TV said that the strikes targeted areas east and south of the capital, Sanaa, the Island of Kamaran in the Red Sea, and areas both north and south of the oil-rich Marib province. No casualties were reported.
The U.S. operation in Yemen has so far claimed the lives of more than 73 people, including both civilians and commanders of the Houthis.
Recent reports revealed that the Pentagon has so far spent around $1 billion on the operation. Despite this high cost and the lack of any clear results, Hegseth’s recent remarks indicate that the Trump administration is planning further escalation.
Last week, a report by The War Zone revealed that the U.S. military has already begun to use B-2 strategic stealth bombers deployed at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in its operation against the Houthis. Next, the U.S. military may launch raids on the ground with help from local forces backed by Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. This could reignite the war in Yemen.
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