The Pentagon late Saturday vowed “continuous operations 24/7” against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, while President Trump shared a video purporting to be footage of a deadly U.S. airstrike on the rebel group.
The video shared by the president seems to coincide with suspected U.S. airstrikes Saturday in the northern Yemeni city of Saada. Houthi officials said two people were killed and nine others were wounded in the attack, though the footage shared by Mr. Trump on Truth Social appears to show dozens of individuals gathered together before an apparent explosion.
“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis!” the president posted. “They will never sink our ships again!”
In a social media post, U.S. Central Command did not share the same footage as the president but did release new video from the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which CENTCOM said is “launching continuous operations 24/7 against Iran-backed Houthis.”
The Trump administration has launched a flurry of airstrikes against the Houthis in recent weeks. Officials said there have been more than 200 strikes since March 15, though the details of the vast majority of those strikes remain murky.
The attacks on the Houthis, who are financially and logistically backed by Iran, are part of the Trump administration’s strategy to put pressure on Tehran. The administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran’s rapidly accelerating nuclear program.
U.S. operations against the Houthis, coupled with Israeli military operations against other Iran-backed proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, are part of that broader pressure campaign on Iran.
The Pentagon has recently dispatched additional military assets to the region. In addition to the Truman carrier strike group, defense officials last week said the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, now in the Indo-Pacific, will soon head to the Mideast. And The Associated Press, citing satellite images that it viewed, has reported that at least six, nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers have been deployed to the U.S. military base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted more than 100 ships, including U.S. military vessels, with missiles and drones. The Trump administration has warned Iran that it could face direct military action if it does not stop its support for the Houthis, who are part of Iran’s broader “axis of resistance” across the region.
