New York - Sana'a: Europe and the Arabs
The US President ordered intensive airstrikes against Houthi positions in Sana'a and the governorates of Sa'dah, Dhamar, Ma'rib, and Taiz, killing at least 31 people and wounding 101 others, most of them in the Yemeni capital and Sa'dah governorate, according to Houthi-affiliated media sources.
US officials confirmed that these airstrikes, which targeted Houthi strongholds in Sana'a and Sa'dah, were carried out on the direct orders of President Trump, and that the raids were carried out by fighter jets launched from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, stationed in the Red Sea. According to what was published by the European news network in Brussels, Euronews, on Sunday morning,
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced via its X platform that the strikes targeted important military sites, including air defense systems, radars, ballistic missiles, and drones, with the aim of reducing the Houthis' ability to threaten maritime navigation in the Red Sea, as it put it. Images circulating online also showed columns of black smoke rising above the Sanaa airport complex, which houses a large military facility. The Houthis reported airstrikes targeting the governorates of Hodeidah, Al-Bayda, and Ma'rib early Sunday, indicating a continued military escalation in the region.
Houthis: Escalation with similar escalation
For its part, the political bureau of the Ansar Allah movement described the US-British bombing as "blatant aggression" that would not go unanswered, stressing that the group is "fully prepared to confront the escalation with similar escalation."
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, considered the US raids a "flagrant violation of Yemen's sovereignty," stressing that the United States is using claims of protecting international navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait as a "pretext" to justify its military escalation in the region.
He added that these claims aim to "mislead international public opinion" and legitimize US military actions and protect Israeli interests in the region. Trump to the Houthis: Your Time Is Up
In this context, Trump announced via his Truth Social platform that he had ordered extensive military operations against the Houthis, warning that "the group's time is up." He also threatened to use "overwhelming force like they've never seen before" if the attacks on American and international vessels did not cease.
The US President criticized the policies of his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, describing his response to the Houthis as "weak and pathetic," and said that this complacency had prompted the group to continue its attacks. He also issued a warning to Iran, stressing that it would be held "fully responsible" for its support of the Houthis in the region.
Trump added, "No terrorist force will prevent American commercial and naval vessels from freely navigating the world's waterways."
In the same context, the White House indicated that Houthi attacks on shipping lanes since 2023 have caused the number of commercial vessels in the Red Sea to decline from 25,000 annually to about 10,000, negatively impacting the global economy. He said the Ansar Allah group had launched 174 attacks on US warships and 145 attacks on commercial vessels, prompting the United States to take military action "to protect its national security and economic interests." This escalation comes two weeks after Trump sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to resuming bilateral talks between the two countries regarding Iran's nuclear program, which reports say has progressed rapidly.