The United States military carried out overnight strikes against Houthi military infrastructure in Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on March 15. The strikes against the Houthis, who have targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, are the first military actions taken against the Iranian-backed militia by the Trump administration since taking office.
“U.S. Central Command initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM stated on X.
The New York Times detailed that the targets of the initial strikes included radars, air defenses, missiles, drones, and a senior Houthi commander. However, “operations against Iran-backed Houthis continue,” CENTCOM stated.
President Donald Trump announced that he ordered the attack to restore navigational freedom of international waterways where the Houthis have previously attacked commercial and military vessels. Trump also issued an ultimatum to the group to cease its attacks.
“To all Houthi terrorists, 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 posted on Truth Social and X.
The operation follows the Trump administration’s re-designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 4, 2025, after the Biden administration de-listed the group after taking office in 2021.
The Biden administration responded to Houthi attacks on US and international shipping, which ramped up significantly in November 2023 after Hamas assaulted southern Israel the month before, with occasional airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ offensive weapons systems. Among the targets were anti-ship missiles, drones, launch sites, radar systems, and weapons storage depots.
However, the Biden administration refused to target Houthi military and political leaders, as well as the Iranian advisers who aided the group in its attacks. In July 2024, General Eric Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, admitted that US efforts to coerce the Houthis into halting attacks on shipping had failed.
The Houthis respond
The Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel reported that the group’s Supreme Political Council—the governing body established by the Houthis—said it would punish the “aggressors” that carried out the strikes.
The timing of the US military operation is noteworthy. On March 3, Israel halted aid and other goods to the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s refusal to accept an extension of the first phase of a ceasefire deal. The plan, proposed by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would have extended the agreement’s first phase in which Hamas would have released half of the living and deceased hostages. If Israel and Hamas agree to a permanent ceasefire, the remaining hostages would be released.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al Houthi warned Israel on March 7 that it had four days to resume aid to the Gaza Strip before the group would restart naval operations against Israel.
On March 11, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said that naval operations had resumed following the expiration of the four-day deadline. Saree warned that the Houthis had imposed a military blockade of Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas, including the Bab al Mandeb Straight and the Gulf of Aden. Saree added that Israeli ships navigating those waterways would be targeted, and the blockade would last until Israel allowed aid into the Gaza Strip.
Terrorist organizations aligned with the Houthis published statements of support following the strikes. For example, Hamas condemned the US and Britain (though there’s no evidence the UK played a role) for carrying out the attack.
“We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), condemn in the strongest terms the criminal American-British air aggression that targeted a residential neighborhood in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a,” Hamas said.
The Houthis and Iran’s Axis of Resistance
The Houthis, as part of Iran’s Axis of Resistance along with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, have been targeting US forces to drive America from the region and support Palestinian terror groups in Gaza.
The Houthis possess ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones and have used all three weapons systems against commercial vessels and US warships since Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Houthis also have a decade-long history of harassing and attacking commercial ships operating in the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al Mandeb Strait, and the Red Sea.
Also known as Ansar Allah, the Houthis have seized control of significant areas of northern Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa, since launching a rebellion in 2014. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) increasingly co-opted the Houthi Movement since its formation in the 1990s. The IRGC has provided the Houthis with weapons, training, and financial support. Iran uses its network of militias and terrorist groups in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to put pressure on Israel and the United States.
The Houthis are estimated to have 100,000 fighters under arms. The group’s official motto is “God is great, death to the US, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam.”
