The US President Donald Trump has ordered US forces to "commence decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthis in Yemen.
He wrote about this on his social network Truth Social.
"It has been over a year since a US-flagged commercial vessel safely passed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. The last US warship to pass through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis more than ten times," he stressed.
Trump said the United States “will not tolerate a Houthi attack on American ships”. He vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until he achieved his goal of unblocking shipping in the region.
According to him, American fighter jets are currently carrying out air strikes on Houthi bases, their leaders, and missile defense facilities.
He demands that the Houthis stop attacking the ships, otherwise he will give them “hell like they have never seen before”. Trump also demands that Iran stop supporting the Houthis.
American officials told The New York Times that airstrikes on the Houthi arsenal, much of which is hidden deep underground, could last for several days, increasing in intensity and scale depending on the militantsʼ response.
Some national security aides want to pursue an even more aggressive campaign that would effectively force the Houthis to lose control of much of the north of the country, the sources added. But Trump has not yet approved the strategy, fearing it would drag the United States into a Middle East conflict he campaigned on to avoid.
What preceded
Houthi attacks on ships have been ongoing since late 2023, causing most Western container ships to bypass the Red Sea and take a much longer route around South Africa on voyages between Asia and Europe throughout 2024. This has increased shipping times, prices, and tariffs.
On the evening of January 15, 2025, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. The Houthis then announced that they would voluntarily abide by the agreement and suspend attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
But on February 19 of this year, the Houthis fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet flying over the Red Sea, but missed the plane, Fox News reported. On the same day, the Houthis also attacked a U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone flying over Yemen outside Houthi-controlled areas, the channel reported.
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