- The United States launched a series of attacks over the weekend, that continued into this week, against the Houthis.
- The Houthis, an Iran-backed group in Yemen, have been targeting ships in the Red Sea since November 2023.
- Trump said he would retaliate against Iran if they continue to back the Houthis.
The U.S. military continued to take aim at targets controlled by Houthis on Tuesday after bombarding the Iran-backed terrorist group in Yemen over the weekend.
The Houthis have launched over 100 attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea since November 2023. The retaliatory strikes by the U.S. that continued into Wednesday were the most serious strikes against Houthi targets since then.
Fifty-three people were killed in the attacks over the weekend and nearly 100 others were injured, according to reports. Bombs fell near the major city of Sanaa, which is controlled by Houthis, as well as the port of Hodeidah, per BBC.
U.S. Central Command said the Houthis seized food on Saturday that was meant for people in Yemen, where the World Food Program says millions are starving because of prolonged conflict in the country.
Attack over the weekend
In his first-ever public briefing at the Pentagon, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell updated the media on the bombardment, its motivations and its results.
Parnell indicated that the United States would not stop launching strikes against Houthi targets until they agreed to stop attacking ships.
“There is a very clear end-state to this operation, and that begins the moment that the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk,” he said.
Sites fired on included terrorist training sites, drone infrastructure, weapons factories, weapons storage facilities and several command centers.
Since the weekend blitz, the Houthis have launched multiple attacks on U.S. targets, per The Times of Israel. The group claimed responsibility for several missile and drone launches on American ships floating in the waters near the Middle East.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G Grynkewich dismissed the severity of the Houthi attacks in the Pentagon press briefing.
“Quite frankly, it’s hard to tell because while we’re executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles,” he said. “I would question anything that they claim to the press that they’re doing or not doing. It’s very hard to tell ... just based on the level of incompetence they’ve demonstrated.”
U.S.-Houthi relations: What is next?
Starting in January 2024, former President Joe Biden and the United Kingdom partnered in a series of airstrikes against the Houthis, per The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump has since expanded the campaign against the Houthis. On Tuesday, Houthis fired a missile at Israel, as the Deseret News reported. The missile was shot down by the Israeli military.
Trump turned his ire on Iran over Houthi strikes.
“Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen ... all emanate from, and are all created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there,” Trump posted to Truth Social on March 17.
He blamed Iran playing the “innocent victim” while aiding the Houthis with military equipment, money and intelligence.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump warned.