Egypt Daily News – US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes on the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen on Saturday in response to the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, killing at least 31 Yemenis at the start of a campaign expected to last several days.
Trump warned the Houthis that if they did not stop their attacks, “you will witness a hell like you have never seen before.” He also warned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, against continuing its support for them, saying that if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable, and we will not be kind about it!”
The commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Major General Hossein Salami, said on Sunday that the Houthis are independent and make their own strategic and operational decisions. Salami told state media, “We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and with destructive force if they carry out their threats.”
The strikes, which one official said could last for days or even weeks, represent the largest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January. They come as the United States escalates sanctions pressure on Tehran in an effort to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform, “To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop starting today. If that does not happen, you will witness a hell like never before.”
Anis Al-Asbahi, the spokesperson for the Houthi-run Ministry of Health, said in an update on Sunday that the US strikes had killed at least 31 people and injured 101, most of them women and children. The Houthis’ political office described the attacks as a “war crime.”
In a statement, they said, “Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation.”Residents of Sanaa said the airstrikes targeted a building in a Houthi stronghold. A resident named Abdullah Yahya said that the explosions were violent, shaking the neighborhood as if it were an earthquake, and terrifying women and children.
In the southwestern city of Taiz, two witnesses reported on Sunday that strikes had targeted Houthi military sites.
Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday that another attack had targeted a power station in the city of Dhahyan in Saada, leading to a power outage. Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi often meets his visitors in Dhahyan.
The Houthis have carried out dozens of attacks on shipping since November 2023, claiming that their campaign is in support of Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
A US Department of Defense (Pentagon) spokesperson said that since 2023, the Houthis have attacked US warships 174 times and commercial ships 145 times. The Houthis claim their attacks are in support of Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Since the conflict erupted, Iran’s other allies—including Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah—have been significantly weakened. In addition, the Syrian opposition ousted Iran’s close ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, from power in December.
However, the Houthis have remained resilient during this period and continued their offensive, sinking two ships, seizing another, and killing at least four sailors in a campaign that has disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute through longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The previous US administration under President Joe Biden sought to weaken the Houthis’ ability to attack ships off the Yemeni coast, but its measures were limited.
US officials, who requested anonymity, said Trump had authorized a more forceful approach.
Strikes across Yemen
The US Central Command, which oversees forces in the Middle East, said Saturday’s strikes were the beginning of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
Officials said Saturday’s strikes were partially carried out by aircraft from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X, “We will not tolerate Houthi attacks on US ships, aircraft, and forces, and we warn Iran, their sponsor. We will restore freedom of navigation.”
Trump hinted at the possibility of even more destructive military action against Yemen.
The US president said, “We will not tolerate Houthi attacks on American ships. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we achieve our goal.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes on Yemen, describing them in a statement published by state media as “a blatant violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental rules of international law.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US government “has no authority or right to dictate Iran’s foreign policy.” He wrote on X early Sunday, “Stop supporting genocide and Israeli terrorism. Stop killing the Yemeni people.”
On Tuesday, the Houthis announced they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm that began in January alongside the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The US strikes came just days after Trump delivered a message to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seeking talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Khamenei rejected negotiations with the United States on Wednesday.
However, four Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran is increasingly concerned that growing public anger over economic hardships could lead to mass protests.
US officials said that Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities last year, including missile factories and air defenses, had reduced Iran’s conventional military capabilities.
Those attacks were in response to Iranian missile and drone strikes.
Iran has denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that Iran is rapidly enriching uranium to 60% purity, close to the 90% needed for nuclear weapons.
Western countries say there is no civilian need to enrich uranium to such a high level and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs.
In a clear sign of US efforts to improve relations with Russia, the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, informing him of the US strikes in Yemen.
US and Ukrainian officials say Russia relies on Iranian-supplied weapons, including missiles and drones, in its war in Ukraine.
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