U.S. military forces bombed more than a dozen sites in Yemen in a massive retaliatory action against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The strike included Tomahawk cruise missiles, drones, and bombs hitting 60 targets in Yemen to degrade the Houthis' “command-and-control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems," according to the U.S. Air Force’s Mideast command.
Joe Biden said in a statement that the United States "will not tolerate" the ceaseless attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said in the statement.
“I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," he added.
The U.S. was joined in the strike by Great Britain. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK took “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.”
It's not like the Houthis haven't been warned. A group of 20 nations, including the United States, issued a "final warning" to the Houthis last week threatening retaliation unless the attacks on shipping stopped.
It seemed to work for a few days. And then on Tuesday, the Houthis staged the biggest attack on shipping since their campaign started in November. Biden had no choice but to accept the invitation from the Houthis to attack them.
The president had been trying to avoid striking the Houthis, which may yet upset the delicate cease-fire currently in place. Ultimately, the Houthis made the cease-fire irrelevant.
A high-ranking Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, vowed there would be retaliation. “The battle will be bigger ... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British,” he said in a post on X.
Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, described strikes hitting the Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa, the airport in the port city of the Hodeida, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah.
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Wednesday that demanded the Houthis immediately cease the attacks and condemned their patron, Iran. It passed by a vote of 11-0, with Russia, China, Algeria, and Mozambique abstaining.
Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, which will be held on Friday. Moscow claims that because the UN resolution condemning the Houthis didn't include an explicit authorization to use force, the U.S. violated international law.
The Houthis have yet to expand their terrorist activities beyond their immediate vicinity. But they've done plenty of damage to Saudi Arabia, and we might expect more attacks on the Kingdom after this strike.
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