Iran USA continues attacks against Huthi in Yemen
The USA is continuing its military strikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen. The operations against the Iranian-backed Huthi terrorists are continuing, the responsible US regional command Centcom announced on Platform X last night without providing further details.
17.03.2025, 05:51
SDA
The Yemeni news agency Saba, which is controlled by the Huthi militia, reported two airstrikes in the early hours of the morning in the area of the port city of Hudaida, around 230 kilometers southwest of the capital Sanaa.
According to the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera, the death toll from the US attacks rose to 53. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously described the attacks ordered by President Donald Trump on Saturday as a clear message to the Huthi and Iran on Fox News. As soon as the militia said it would stop shooting at ships, the US would stop its attacks, the Pentagon chief added.
USA warns Iran
The message was also clear for Iran, said Hegseth. Support for the Houthis must end immediately. Otherwise, the USA would hold Tehran accountable. Iran condemned the actions of the USA in Yemen. "These attacks, which have led to the deaths of dozens of innocent Yemenis, are a blatant violation of the UN Charter and will put the security of the region at unprecedented risk," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai.
The Houthi militia has so far shown no signs of relenting. Its leader, Abdel-Malik al-Huthi, declared in a speech: "If they [the US] continue their aggression, we will continue the escalation." He announced that he would attack US merchant ships and warships, as the Arab TV stations Al-Jazeera and Sky News Arabia reported in unison. During the night, the militia claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman for the second time. This could not be independently verified at first.
Huthi leader in their sights
"The idea that you carry out this massive wave of airstrikes and the Huthi just sit back and take it is absurd," Mohammed Al-Basha, founder of the US-based Middle East security consultancy Basha Report, told the Wall Street Journal. They would retaliate, and they would retaliate fiercely. "It will be a vicious circle." Like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, the Houthi are part of Iran's self-proclaimed resistance front against its arch-enemy Israel.
Hamas and Hezbollah have been considerably weakened by the military conflicts with Israel. Now the US, which is allied with Israel, is increasingly targeting another Iranian ally with its massive attacks in Yemen, after Trump's predecessors had already tried to weaken the Houthi in Yemen with repeated attacks. Similar to Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the US military is now also targeting the leaders of the militia in the fight against the Houthi.
Leading members of the Huthi fled from the capital Sanaa, which they control, to rural areas after the first night-time US airstrikes. This was reported by the Saudi Arabia-funded news channel Al-Arabija. High-ranking members had been ordered to leave their homes due to the danger of further airstrikes. According to US media, the attacks also targeted Houthi rocket launchers, which had been moved towards the coast in preparation for new attacks against ships. Around a dozen drones targeting the US war fleet were also destroyed.
Expert: Huthi could also attack US bases
One of the most important shipping routes for world trade runs along the coast of Yemen. In addition to resuming attacks on Israel and ships, the Houthis could also attempt to attack US bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, Al-Basha was quoted as saying. Should the conflict drag on, the militia would probably also launch attacks on Saudi Arabia again in order to exert indirect pressure on Washington, he said.
After the outbreak of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in October 2023, the Houthi militia began attacking ships with alleged links to Israel as well as Israel itself in support of Hamas. After a ceasefire came into force in Gaza, the militia ceased its attacks on ships in January. However, when Israel recently stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza in order to urge Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages there, the Houthis announced a few days ago that they would resume their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Action against the Houthi leaders - which Trump's predecessor Joe Biden largely refrained from doing for fear of escalation - could further undermine the Houthi's ability to respond, analysts told the Wall Street Journal. But there is also a risk that it will become "more unpredictable". The US policy of deterrence will probably take time to become effective, Osamah Al Rawhani of the San'a Center for Strategic Studies was quoted as saying. The Huthi militia has proven time and again in recent years that it is capable of "adapting and recovering".
