The United States, having suffered defeat in its proxy war against Russia, has retreated to its tradition of flexing its military might against smaller, weaker nations incapable of mounting a robust defense.
In a bid to reassert its dominance, the U.S. war machine has now set its sights on the Yemeni-based Houthi militants. This group pales compared to the Russian adversary that recently outmaneuvered the US-led Western alliance against Russia.
President Donald Trump, in a statement on Truth Social, announced the launch of a major military operation against the Houthis on Saturday, March 15, 2025. The campaign, involving air strikes on Houthi ”bases, leaders, and missile defenses,” is ostensibly aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the waters adjacent to Yemen.
Trump accused the Houthis of waging an ”unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” claiming that their actions have disrupted international commercial navigation in the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden.
”It has been over a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship safely sailed,” the president lamented, demanding that the militants cease their attacks or face ”hell” raining down upon them ”like nothing you have ever seen before.”
The Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, has controlled a significant portion of war-torn Yemen since the mid-2010s. The Iran-backed Shia group has targeted merchant vessels and fired ballistic missiles at Israel in protest against the war in Gaza, prompting the US, UK, and Israel to bomb Houthi-linked military sites and infrastructure in Yemen.
In January, the Trump administration redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist group, citing their repeated attacks on US warships and launches of ”more than 300 projectiles” at Israel since 2023.
Trump also issued a stern warning to Iran, cautioning against providing any support to the Houthis or ”threatening” the US. ”Support for the Houthi terrorist must end immediately,” he declared, threatening to hold Iran ”fully accountable” and promising that the US ”won’t be nice about it.”
Tehran has yet to respond to this latest development.
Sources
- New York Times: Trump Orders Attacks on Militant Sites in Yemen and Issues a Warning to Iran
- CNN: Trump says ‘decisive’ military action against Houthis in Yemen is underway
