The US launched a massive military strike against dozens of Yemen's targets on Saturday, controlled by Iran-backed Hooty militias, President Trump announced.
It was the opening salvo of Trump's demand for nuclear deals with the government, which U.S. officials said was a new attack on extremists and a strong message to Iran.
The air and naval strike ordered by Trump raided radar, air defense, missile and drone systems, and the Houchys destroyed the attacks for months to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The Biden administration has carried out several similar strikes against Houthis, but has largely failed to restore regional stability.
US officials said the artillery fires, the most important military action of Trump's second term so far, was intended to send warning signals to Iran. Trump wants to mediate a contract with Iran to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, but he has kept the possibility of military action open if Iranians refuse to negotiate.
“Today, I have ordered the US military to launch a decisive and powerful military action against the hooti terrorists in Yemen,” Trump said in his message on True Society. “They have launched a relentless campaign of copyright infringement, violence and terrorism against America and others, ships, aircraft and drones.”
Trump then fought against Tehran's Iranian ruler. Americans who have received one of the biggest orders in presidential history or global shipping lanes, don't threaten their president. If so, beware that America will hold you completely accountable. ”
US officials said the airstrikes on Arsenal by Houthis have been buried in many underground areas and could last for several days, and will strengthen their scope and scale in response to extremists' responses. The US intelligence agency has struggled in the past to identify and find the Houthi Weapons system that rebels have produced in underground factories and smuggled from Iran.
Some national security aides want to pursue a more offensive campaign in which the Houches can essentially lose control of much of the country's north, U.S. officials said. But Trump has yet to allow that strategy that is wary of entanglement of the US in a Middle Eastern conflict he vowed to avoid during his campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking advantage of the moment Iran's air defense campaign exposed after the Israeli bombing campaign dismantled critical military infrastructure in October to push Trump to allow a joint US-Israel operation to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons facilities. Trump has been reluctant to get caught up in a massive war, and has so far been held back by pressure from both Israel and the US Hawks, seizing an opening to attack Iran's nuclear sites.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, Houthi rebels have attacked over 100 merchant ships and warships in the Red Sea with hundreds of missiles, drones and speedboats carrying explosives, disrupting world trade through one of the busiest maritime vehicles in the world.
Supported by Iran, Houtis, acting as a de facto government in most of northern Yemen, halted the attack in January when Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in Gaza. However, Israel has launched aid lockdown to Gaza this month, saying the Houtis will step up its attacks accordingly.
Group attacks in recent weeks have angered Trump. They flew through the Red Sea with Air Force F-16s and fired missiles in flight, causing them to miss the jet. The US military's MQ-9 Reaper drone disappeared in the Red Sea the same day that Houthi extremists claimed they had shot down one.
“For all Houthi terrorists, your time is increasing, and your attacks must stop from today,” Trump said in a true social message.
US officials said Saturday's strike came from a series of high-level White House meetings between Trump and national security aides, including Vice President J.D. Vance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Michael Waltz, the president's national security adviser. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses. General Michael E. Kurira, the central commander of the army. Trump approved the plan on Friday.
The strike was carried out by fighter jets from Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier now in the Northern Red Sea, as well as air force attack planes and armed drones fired from local bases, U.S. officials said.
During the Biden administration, attacks on commercial transport were filled with several counter strikes by the US and British troops. For example, between January and May last year, the troops of both countries carried out at least five major joint strikes against the Houches in response to attacks on transport.
The US Central Command, which launched a strike on Saturday without other countries' assistance, regularly announced military action against the Hoosys.
However, the US-led strike failed to stop the attack on the shipping lanes connecting to the Suez Canal, which is important for world trade. Hundreds of ships were forced to take long detours around South Africa, pushing up costs. Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, some of the largest vessel transport lines show that their ships still surround the Cape of Joy and avoid the Red Sea on their website.
The Biden administration tried to cut down its ability to threaten merchant and military ships without killing numerous Houthi fighters and commanders.
The fear of conflict in the wide area has subsided significantly as Israel's massive counterattacks have become even more vulnerable since Israel destroyed Hezbollah and Hamas, destroyed two major Iranian proxies in the region, destroying most of Iran's air defenses, and then destroying most of Iran's punishment last fall.
It gave more room to use it as a warning to Iranian leaders if Trump took on a massive bombing attack on the Houssis and balked into talks centered around Tehran's nuclear program.
However, it is unclear how the updated bombing campaign against the Hoosys will succeed if previous US-led military efforts have largely failed. Trump did not elaborate on his social media message.
“The uncontrollable hoosys just continued because Joe Biden's response was pathetic,” Trump said. Use overwhelming lethal force until you reach your goal. ”
With over eight years of fighting with the Saudi-led coalition honed its military capabilities, Houthis has opened up the prospect of a war with the United States with open joy.
The tribal group Houthis, raided the country's capital Sana in 2014, effectively won a war with the Saudi Arabian Union, which took over much of northern Yemen and spent years trying to defeat them. They have built their ideology around opposition to Israel and the United States, and often portray similarities between the American-made bombs used to smash Yemen and the bombs sent to Israel and used in Gaza.
In late January, Trump issued an executive order to redesign Yemen's Hooti rebels as “foreign terrorist groups,” calling the group a threat to local security, the White House said. Critics argued that the move exacerbates the country's already tragic humanitarian crisis.
The order restored the designation given to a group officially known as Ansal Allah in the second half of the first Trump administration. The Biden administration lifted its designation shortly after taking office to promote peace talks in Yemen's civil war.
However, last year, the Biden team reversed the course and labeled the Hoosis as a “specially designated global terrorist” organization (a less severe category) in response to attacks on US warships in the Red Sea.
Officials in Washington and the Middle East were gagging for Hooty's counterattack on Saturday.
Houthis spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said on social media on January 22 that supporting the Palestinian cause will remain a top priority even after the ceasefire in Gaza. Houthis says it will stop targeting all ships in the “full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire agreement.
But at the same time, Houthis warned that if the US or the UK directly attack Yemen, it would resume attacks on vessels associated with those countries. Evidence recently investigated by weapons researchers shows that it may have gained new advanced technology that will make it more difficult for rebels to detect drones and help them fly further.
Peter Evis contributed to the report.
