 "US says strikes on Houthis in Yemen will continue 'indefinitely' as Iran pledges to respond 'destructively'")
A day after the US pounded the Houthi militant targets in Yemen, American officials said that such airstrikes would continue “indefinitely”. On Saturday, the US conducted the first round of strikes in Yemen, killing at least 53 people and injuring over 100. Washington said that the strikes aimed to punish the Houthis for their attacks against global shipping on the Red Sea.
What makes the Saturday strike significant is the fact that this was the first strike the US conducted against Houthis after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. While speaking to Fox News, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “The minute the Houthis say ‘we’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones’, this campaign will end, but until then it will be unrelenting.”
Hegseth was among several senior officials who argued that the strikes were designed to signal Washington’s assertive approach towards Iran and, more generally, West Asia. In a separate interview, US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz noted that the strikes “targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out” and had involved “overwhelming force [that] put Iran on notice that enough is enough”.
All sides remain alert
While announcing the American strikes in Yemen, Trump issued stern warnings to both Houthis and Iran. “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 wrote on TruthSocial on Saturday. “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” he added.
The White House went on to share the photograph of the president, wearing a Trump-branded golf shirt, watching the airstrikes on a display screen identified as being in Florida. Officials from the US State Department also noted that Russia was informed about the strike, calling it a way to restore communication between the two superpowers.
President Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend US shipping assets and deter terrorist threats.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 15, 2025
For too long American economic & national threats have been under assault by the Houthis. Not under this presidency. pic.twitter.com/FLC0E8Xkly
Impact Shorts
View AllMeanwhile, Anees Alsbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry, said on Sunday that five children and two women were among 53 people who lost their lives in the American strikes. The Yemeni group has been notoriously conducting several attacks on ships passing by the Red Sea, expressing support for Hamas in its ongoing war against Israel.
The Iran-backed militant group have also launched missiles, drones and rockets at Israel since the start of the conflict. Responding to the American warning, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that the Houthis were independent and were known for making their own strategic and operational decisions.
“We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they take their threats into action,” Maj Gen Hossein Salami told state media. In a statement shared by the country’s media, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strikes, calling them a “gross violation of the principles of the United Nations charter and the fundamental rules of international law”.
The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 16, 2025
That era ended in 1979.
Biden was last year bamboozled into HANDING OVER UNPRECEDENTED 23 BILLION DOLLARS TO A GENOCIDAL REGIME. More than 60,000 Palestinians killed and the world…
Araghchi insisted that the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy”. “End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people,” he said in a post on X early on Sunday. Washington has already increased sanctions pressure on Iran while trying to bring it to the negotiation table over the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear programme.
With inputs from agencies.
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