US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had ordered the military to launch "decisive and forceful military action" against the Houthi group in Yemen, pledging to use "overwhelming deadly force" until Washington achieves its objectives. US officials said the United States launched strikes on dozens of Houthi targets, indicating the air strikes could continue for several days, according to The New York Times.
In a statement, Trump said the Houthis had "unleashed a relentless campaign of piracy, violence, and terror against American ships, aircraft, and other air and maritime assets." He added that former President Joe Biden's response "was pathetically weak."
The US president pledged that "Houthi attacks on American ships will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming deadly force until we achieve our objective."
He added: "The Houthis have strangled shipping traffic in one of the world's most important waterways, crippling vast swathes of global trade, and attacking the foundational principle of freedom of navigation upon which international economics and commerce depends."
Trump announced that "the American military is launching air strikes against Houthi bases, leaders, and missile defence systems," adding the step aims to protect American ships, airspace, and maritime assets, and restore freedom of navigation.
He added: "To all the Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop, effective immediately. If you don't, hell will rain down on you in a way you have never seen before!" He continued: "No terror force will be allowed to prevent merchant and US Navy vessels from sailing freely through global waterways."
Residents north of Sanaa heard about eight strong explosions in separate locations, and near the former Central Security Camp, in addition to the Al-Graf district. It is not yet known whether these air raids have caused casualties."
The US president called on Iran to immediately stop its support for the Houthi group, adding: "Do not threaten the American people or their President, who received one of the largest mandates in Presidential history, or global shipping lanes. If you do, be warned because America will hold you fully accountable, and we will not be kind in our dealings with you."
Officials told The New York Times that "the American attacks include air and sea strikes targeting radars, air defences, missile systems, and Houthi drones," indicating that "the strikes against Houthi targets are trying to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea area," which has suffered from tensions since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
The officials told the newspaper that "the military operation in Yemen also aims to send a warning message to Iran," in their words.
The Houthi group said last week that it would resume banning the passage of Israeli ships in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, or the Gulf of Aden with "immediate effect," after a halt that began in January the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Days later, the Houthis threatened to resume their naval operations against Israeli ships if Tel Aviv did not reverse its ban on the entry of aid into Gaza within days.
On March 2, Israel prevented aid trucks from entering Gaza, before announcing on Sunday that it would stop supplying the sector with electricity. Israeli sources told the "Israeli Broadcasting Corporation" that "the next stage will be to stop supplying the northern sector with water."
'Foreign Terrorist Organisation' The Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinians during Israel's war on Gaza, according to Reuters. During that period, the group sank two ships, seized another, and killed at least four sailors in attacks that disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute their voyages on a longer and more costly path around South Africa. The US State Department announced earlier in March that it was implementing a decision to designate the Houthi group a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation" after President Donald Trump called for this step to be taken. Trump redesignated the group as a foreign terrorist organisation in January, with the goal of imposing tougher economic sanctions on it in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and U.S. warships present in the important maritime area.
