The U.S. military has struck more than 30 targets in Yemen since Saturday, part of the Trump administration’s new campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a terrorist group that has halted international shipping for more than a year.
The initial salvo, which began Saturday, targeted sites used to train militants, launch drones, build weapons and command operations, including some housing Houthi leadership, said Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the Joint Staff’s director for operations, in a Monday briefing.
U.S. Central Command continued strikes against the group Sunday and Monday, launching a campaign that may last weeks, officials said.
“We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” said Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson also at the briefing.
The Harry S. Truman carrier strike group is in the Red Sea and was part of Saturday’s mission. The Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region.
The Trump administration has said the attacks are intended to end the Houthis’ menacing of international trade in the Red Sea, a vital waterway for global shipping. The group began targeting commercial ships shortly after Israel’s war in Gaza began in the fall of 2023, though it paused soon after that conflict reached a ceasefire this January.
However, the Houthis threatened last week to resume attacks, objecting to the amount of humanitarian aid Israel is letting into Gaza.
The Biden administration previously launched a multinational task force to reopen trade in the Red Sea and targeted the Houthis in similar large-scale strikes. The strikes largely failed to protect shipping lanes, and most companies opted to reroute away from the Red Sea rather than risk attack.
The operations also drew the ire of many Republicans, including some now staffing the Trump administration. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz previously argued the Biden administration was depleting its scarce stockpiles of munitions to fight a “ragtag bunch of terrorists.” The Trump administration’s nominee to run Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, posted similar dismay last year.
“It’s truly a mark of how off-kilter our foreign policy is that we are now embarking on ongoing military attacks in Yemen – Yemen! – without any real prospect they will be effective,” Colby posted in January 2024.
At Monday’s briefing, Parnell and Grynkewich argued the strikes carried out under the Trump administration will be different, saying they were hitting Houthi leadership and a broader set of targets than before. Citing security concerns, the pair didn’t offer much detail on how the attacks will force the Houthis to buckle, and what happens if they don’t.
Earlier Monday, President Trump posted on social media that the U.S. will now consider Iran — largely responsible for arming the Houthis — responsible for any future attacks.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN,” the president posted on his Truth Social website, threatening “consequences” on Tehran.
Neither Parnell nor Grynkewich would confirm whether the U.S. military was considering attacks on Iranian ships or territory.
“All options are on the table at this time,” Parnell said.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
Read the full article here
