On March 15, President Donald Trump directed the US military to "launch decisive and powerful" action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
The aerial attacks, which he said are to restore navigational freedom, are already ongoing and are occurring days after the Houthis said they will resume attacks on Israeli ships passing near Yemen in response to the halt in aid reaching Gaza.
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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.”
The Houthis reported a number of blasts in their territory Saturday evening.
On January 22, the president issued an executive order redesignating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, directing the State Department to provide a report on the proposed classification. The terrorist classification was established on March 4.
Between the commencement of Israel's battle with Hamas in October 2023 and January 2025, the Iran-backed Yemen-based group used missiles and drones to assault over 100 boats from several nations, sinking two and murdering four sailors.
“Joe Biden’s response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going,” he said. “It has been over a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden.”
“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” he added.
Those attacks ended with the start of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in January. However, after Israel halted all aid bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, while warning of “additional consequences” if the cease-fire doesn’t extend into its second phase, the Houthis announced that “any Israeli vessel” passing by would become a target.
A maritime security firm retained doubt that the Houthi’s threat would remain solely directed at vessels flying under the Israeli flag.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman carrier group is currently operating in the Red Sea. The U.S. military said on March 12 that its forces in the region “remain vigilant.”
“We will do what is necessary to protect and defend U.S. personnel, assets, and partners,” it said.
On March 15, in the United States. Central Command announced the action on social media site X, saying, "Central Command initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation."
Trump told the Houthis, "Your time is up, and your attacks must cease, beginning now. If they don't, Hell will come down on you like nothing you've ever seen!"
He also insisted that Iran cease backing the Houthis and not harm the American people, their president, or global commerce lanes, or he would hold the country completely responsible and "won't be nice about it."
The attack on the Houthis is the second confirmed strike on terrorist groups in the Middle East on March 15, following the death of ISIS's deputy caliph, Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, also known as Abu Khadija, in Anbar Province, Iraq, during a joint operation by Iraqi national intelligence and US-led coalition forces.
