The U.S. military began a large-scale operation Saturday against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen to defend American interests and global maritime trade, President Donald Trump announced.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it launched “precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
A video accompanying CENTCOM’s statement shows fighter jets taking off from an aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, deployed in the Red Sea as part of a strike group. Other videos posted by CENTCOM show a warship firing missiles and a missile hitting a target.
President Trump announced he ordered the “decisive and powerful” operation. (RELATED: Trump Slaps Yemeni Jihadists Back On Terrorist List After Biden Removed Them)
The Houthis “have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones” costing the U.S. and the global economy “many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump declared.
No ship sailing under the American flag has “safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden” over the past year, Trump added. An American warship last sailed through the Red Sea four months ago, but not without being attacked by the Houthis over 12 times, he added.
“The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends,” Trump said.
He pledged the use of “overwhelming lethal force” against the Houthis, whose time, he said, was up. He also warned Iran to stop backing the Houthis or else “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
The Houthis crippled commercial navigation of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as they struck various commercial vessels — including a U.S. cargo ship in January 2024 — as an expression of support for Gaza’s Hamas as Israel’s Operation Swords of Iron against the Palestinian terrorist organization continues.
Their attacks drove up shipping costs and consumer prices on certain goods. It also indirectly caused the deaths of several livestock as ships transporting them had to turn back or consider navigating longer routes.
The Houthi-run Health Ministry early Sunday reported 31 deaths and 101 injuries, according to The Associated Press. A Houthi official reportedly claimed the strikes would not deter their operations and vowed retaliation.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated with additional details.
wild how we bomb who ever we want and not decclare war or nothing… not even a act of congress or something,.. peace thru strength looks like peace thru violence…
@getting played, They’re the ones who are already firing missiles and drones at our ships and the ships we said we’d protect.
Fools.
Protecting corporations and other governments from the Houthis is necessary all because Israel wants to own more territory, and Trump wants a beautiful resort in Gaza. The peaceful resistance in the United States is growing.
Kill them all . Let God sort them out .