The United States’ military operation against Houthi terrorists in Yemen continued throughout the day on Sunday, as the Iranian-backed militia group launched fresh attacks on U.S. aircraft carriers in the Red Sea.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East region, shared footage early on Monday morning of fighter jets taking off from aircraft carriers, amid reports of renewed strikes on targets in the port city of Hodeidah and in the Houthi-controlled northern province of Al-Jawf.
Meanwhile, U.S. fighter jets on Sunday shot down 11 Houthi suicide drones, none of which came close to the USS Harry S. Truman, a U.S. official told Reuters. American forces also tracked a missile that went down off Yemen’s coast and was not deemed a threat, the official said.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed that the terrorist organization had targeted the Trumanand its accompanying vessels in the northern Red Sea with a large number of ballistic missiles and drones.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed in a televised speech on Sunday to continue to escalate attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area as long as the United States continues its operation in Yemen.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Fox News‘ “Sunday Morning Futures” program that “ships haven’t been able to go through [the Red Sea] for over a year without being shot at. Freedom of navigation is basic, it’s a core national interest, and President [Donald Trump] has said, ‘We will restore that,’ and we will be unrelenting.
“I want to be very clear: This campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence. The minute the Houthis say, ‘We’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones,’ this campaign will end, but until then, it will be unrelenting.”
The message to Iran was clear as well, he continued.
“Your support of the Houthis needs to end immediately; we will hold you accountable as the sponsor of this proxy … We will come after the Houthis until they stop shooting at our ships, and the Iranians better stay out of it.”
At the same time, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the attacks in Yemen had already successfully deterred Tehran.
“We hit the Houthi leadership, killing several of their key leaders last night—their infrastructure, the missiles,” Waltz told Fox News in a separate interview on Sunday. He concluded, “We just hit them with overwhelming force and put Iran on notice that enough is enough.”
Since Hamas initiated the multi-front war in the Middle East with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the Houthis have fired over 100 missiles and drones at ships off Yemen’s coast, sinking two and killing four sailors. Additionally, they fired more than 350 drones and missiles at Israel.
The Houthis ceased their attacks with the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Jan. 19. Earlier this month, the Houthis threatened to resume attacks on “any Israeli vessel” in the Red Sea area in response to the faltering talks on the future of the truce.
Published on Mon, 17 Mar 2025 05:04:11 -0400. Original article link
