The United States on Saturday unleashed a “large scale” military operation against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen over the group’s long-standing attacks on international shipping, US Central Command reported, with US President Donald Trump threatening an even stronger attack. Last week, the Houthi announced they would resume attacking Israeli shipping in response to Israel’s conflict in Gaza, restarting a campaign that had terrorized international shipping in the Middle East for over a year. In launching “decisive and powerful” attacks against the Houthi, President Trump made it clear on in a post to Truth Social on Saturday that the group’s maritime assaults must end now.
Said President Trump: “The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective… 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!”
In addition to the Houthi attacks of international shipping, under the guise of support for Hamas against Israel, the Yemeni group has also launched a number of missiles at Israel and attacked American military interests. The group, known officially as Ansar Allah, controls the capital of Yemen and is a key regional ally of Iran. With that in mind, President Trump also threatened Iran for backing the Houthi in his post to Truth Social.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
Iran would be wise to listen to President Trump, according to Jonathan Conricus, former IDF spokesperson and now a Senior Fellow for The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Conricus wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I hope all American fighters complete their missions and return home safely. I also hope the Iranian regime understands this offensive against its most important proxy as a last chance to disarm its nuclear facilities and cease promoting terror organizations immediately and unconditionally.
“If not, the Houthis may just be the first act. As Israel weighs responses to Hamas’ refusal to release hostages, this week may be a crucial one for the Israeli hostages, Gaza and Iran.”
On Sunday, the Houthi Minister of Foreign Affairs Jamal Amer tried to claim last week’s resumption of shipping attacks was only directed at Israeli vessels, according to the Saba Yemeni News Agency. However, a press briefing published on Saturday to the White House website noted that in the last year-and-a-half the Houthi have attacked American ships, those with British interests, and a ship flying the Greek flag. The statement noted that the Houthi have attacked commercial shipping 145 times and US warships 174 times since 2023. A sizable portion of international shipping has redirected to longer routes to avoid the danger, with Trump noting in his post that the attacks have ultimately cost the global economy “many BILLIONS of Dollars.”
While the US has attacked the Houthi and defended shipping against the Houthi attacks, President Trump called the response under former-US President Joe Biden “pathetically weak”. The latest strikes are a decided escalation in American response. US Central Command, in the press statement posted to their website, did not detail the operation, but US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told ABC’s “This Week” that Houthi leadership was targeted.
“These were not pinprick, back and forth, what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks. This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out,” said Waltz in comments republished on the White House’s Rapid Response 47 page on X.
The Saba Yemeni News Agency reported that the Yemeni Armed Forces claimed the Americans had launched more than 47 air strikes. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth further noted the attacks won’t stop until the Houthi cease their terror campaign against shipping.
“An era of PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH is back—The minute the Houthis say ‘we’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones,’ this campaign will end. But until then, it will be un-relenting,” Hegseth told Fox News in comments republished to the Rapid Response 47’s X page.
Just one day prior to the US counterterrorism campaign against the Houthi, the G-7 (consisting of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom) put out a joint statement highlighting the threat posed by the terror group.
“In the past year, indiscriminate Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have endangered maritime security of vessels and their crews, disturbed international trade, and exposed neighboring countries to environmental hazards,” said the statement, which was also published by the US State Department. “Enabled by Iran’s military, financial, and intelligence support, these illegal attacks have also contributed to increased tension in the Middle East and Yemen.”
That link between the Houthi and Iran is clearly in mind for the Americans as they pushback forcefully against the Yemeni attacks. Secretary Hegseth posted to his own X page on Saturday: “Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice. Freedom of Navigation will be restored. America—under President Donald Trump—will NEVER back down.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, March 16, 2025)