At least 48 people were killed and dozens injured as the US carried out large-scale strikes on Yemen, with President Donald Trump declaring that Iran-aligned Houthis’ “time is up.” He also urged Iran to “immediately” cease its support for the group.
The United States conducted military strikes on dozens of Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen on Friday night and Saturday night. According to Arab reports, the strikes destroyed a Houthi base in the Al-Jaraf neighborhood of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported that the attacks targeted the headquarters of the Houthi political bureau in Sanaa, as well as weapons depots and missile launchers.
About four hours after the initial strikes, additional US attacks were reported in Yemen, targeting the Saada district in the north near the Saudi border, the Dhamar district south of the capital Sanaa, and the Al-Baida district in the country’s center.
CENTCOM operations against Iran-backed Houthis continue… pic.twitter.com/DYvc3gREN8
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2025
The White House released a statement on Saturday, saying, “It has been over a year since a US-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.
“Our economic and national security have been under attack by the Houthis for too long. Today, President Trump’s action and leadership are moving to end this.”
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World,” Trump added.
Trump warned the Houthis, “YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”
Trump also warned Iran: “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
Sound of AMERICA ?? pic.twitter.com/3a5uCbMTGn
— Apple Lamps (@lamps_apple) March 15, 2025
The Houthis’ political bureau condemned the strikes—the first since Donald Trump took office in January—calling them a “war crime.” It also stated that the Yemeni armed forces are “fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation.”
Last Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, warned that “If the United States and their agents make a wrong move, they will be the ones who will suffer the most damage. Of course, war is not a good thing. We are not seeking war. However, if someone takes action (against us), our response will be firm and definite,”
Khamenei also said the United States was on a path to weakness, asserting that in terms of its economy, foreign policy, domestic policy, social issues, and other domains, the US is in a state of decline and can no longer wield the power it possessed 20 to 30 years ago.
To remind you, the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said similar thing about Israel in his famous “cobwebs” speech.
It’s hard to win wars using wishful thinking.
