Yemeni Houthi followers will take part in a US-led air attack launched on the Yemeni site and a tribal parade held on January 22, 2024 against solidarity with the Palestinians near Sanaaa, Yemeni.
Mohammed Hamoud | Getty Images
At least 19 people have been killed as US President Donald Trump launched a massive military strike against the Housis lined up in Yemen’s Iran on Saturday.
Trump also warned Iran, the main supporter of Houthis, that it would need to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the US, “America will hold that it is totally responsible to you and we will not be good about it!”
The unfolding strike, one official said, would last for days and weeks — represents the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January. It came when the US was trying to bring it to the negotiation table over its nuclear program, increasing sanctions pressure on Tehran.
At least 13 civilians have been killed and nine injured in a US strike in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to the Houthi-Run Health Ministry.
Six other six people have died, including four children and one woman, and 11 have been injured in a US strike in the northern province of Saada, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported.
The Political Bureau of Houthis described the attack as a “war crime.”
“Our Yemeni military is fully prepared to respond to escalations caused by escalation,” the statement said.
Sanaa residents said the strike had hit a building at the base of Hooty.
“The explosion was violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children,” one of the residents who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia told Reuters.
Houthis, an armed movement that has taken control of much of Yemen in the past decade, has launched more than 100 attacks since November 2023 that have stolen shipping and set up US troops in costly campaigns that have thwarted the US troops.
Houthis says the attack is in solidarity with the Palestinians over Israeli war with Hamas in Gaza.
Other Iranian allies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict. Syrian Bashar al-Assad, who was closely aligned with Tehran, was overthrown by the rebels in December.
However, Yemeni Hootis has continued to be aggressive, often aggressive, aggressive and often aggressive, often aggressive, as they have killed at least four sailors in attacks that disrupt global shipping, killing at least four sailors and forcing longer and more expensive journeys around South Africa.
Former President Joe Biden’s US administration was trying to reduce the ability of Hoosis to attack ships from the coast, but the US actions were limited.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity says Trump has approved a more aggressive approach.
Crossing Yemen
Saturday’s strike was partially carried out by fighter jets from the Harry S. Truman airline in the Red Sea, officials said.
The US Central Command, which oversees the Middle Eastern military, described Saturday’s strike as the start of a massive operation across Yemen.
“Houthi’s attacks on American ships and aircraft (and our troops!) are unacceptable, and their benefactor, Iran, has been notified,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegses wrote about the X.
Trump has thwarted the prospects of far more devastating military action against Yemen.
“Hooty’s attacks on American ships are unacceptable. They will use overwhelming lethal force until they reach their target,” Trump wrote.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, the Houtis said it would resume attacks on Israeli ships through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a relatively mild period that begins in January with the Gaza ceasefire.
The US attack comes days after a letter to Iran’s supreme leader was submitted from Trump to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called for consultations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Khamenei refused to negotiate with the US on Wednesday.
Still, Tehran is increasingly concerned that gathering public outrage over economic hardship could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials told Reuters.
According to US officials, Israel was attacked by Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, cutting Tehran’s traditional military capabilities in retaliation for Iran’s missile and drone attacks.
Iran has denied its desire to develop nuclear weapons. However, the uranium purity has dramatically accelerated to 60% purity, close to about 90% weapon grade levels, which the United Nations Nuclear Power Plant (International Atomic Energy Agency) has warned.
The Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium at such high levels under private programs, and that other countries have not produced nuclear bombs and do not do so. Iran says the nuclear program is peace. Iran has denied its desire to develop nuclear weapons.
