Houthi rebels vow 'escalation' following deadly U.S. airstrikes in Yemen

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 16, 2025 5:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The United States and Iran-backed Houthi rebels successful Yemen are some vowing escalation aft the U.S. launched airstrikes to deter the rebels from attacking subject and commercialized vessels connected 1 of the world's busiest shipping corridors.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the overnight U.S. strikes killed astatine slightest 53 people, including 5 women and 2 children, and wounded astir 100 successful the superior of Sanaa and the bluish state of Saada, the rebels' stronghold connected the borderline with Saudi Arabia.

"We're not going to person these radical controlling which ships tin spell done and which ones cannot. And truthful your question is, however agelong volition this spell on? It volition spell connected until they nary longer person the capableness to bash that," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS connected Sunday.

He said these are not the one-off retaliation strikes the Biden medication carried retired aft Houthi attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Saturday vowed to usage "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis cease their attacks, and warned that Tehran would beryllium held "fully accountable" for their actions.

The Houthis person repeatedly targeted planetary shipping successful the Red Sea, sinking 2 vessels in what they telephone acts of solidarity with the Palestinians successful Gaza, wherever Israel has been astatine warfare with Hamas, different Iranian ally.

The attacks stopped erstwhile a Israel-Hamas ceasefire took clasp successful January — a time earlier Trump took bureau — but past week, the Houthis said they would renew attacks against Israeli vessels aft Israel chopped disconnected the travel of humanitarian assistance to Gaza this month.

There person been nary Houthi attacks reported since then.

The overnight airstrikes were 1 of the astir extended attacks against the Houthis since the warfare successful Gaza began successful October 2023.

Trump's nationalist information adviser, Michael Waltz, connected Sunday told ABC that the strikes "actually targeted aggregate Houthi leaders and took them out." He didn't place them oregon springiness evidence. Rubio said immoderate Houthi facilities had been destroyed.

The Houthis' governmental bureau has said the rebels volition respond to the U.S. strikes and "meet escalation with escalation."

WATCH | Trump orders strikes connected Iran-backed Houthi rebels successful Yemen: 

The rebels connected Sunday claimed to person targeted the USS Harry S. Truman bearer onslaught radical with missiles and a drone, but 2 U.S. officials told The Associated Press they were not tracking anything. The officials spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon subject operations.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres successful a connection called for "utmost restraint and a cessation of each subject activities," portion informing of the "grave risks" to the dire humanitarian concern successful Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation.

Rubio said that implicit the past 18 months, the Houthis had attacked the U.S. navy "directly" 174 times and targeted commercialized shipping 145 times utilizing "guided precision anti-ship weaponry."

The attacks sparked the astir superior combat the U.S. navy had seen since the Second World War.

On Sunday, the caput of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, denied his state was progressive successful the Houthis' attacks, saying it "plays nary relation successful mounting the nationalist oregon operational policies" of the militant groups it is allied with crossed the region, according to state-run TV.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, penning connected X, urged the U.S. to halt its airstrikes and said Washington cannot dictate Iran's overseas policy.

The U.S. and others person agelong accused Iran of providing subject assistance to the rebels. The U.S. navy has seized Iranian-made rocket parts and different weaponry it said was bound for the Houthis.

The U.S., Israel and Britain antecedently deed Houthi-held areas successful Yemen, but the caller cognition was conducted solely by the U.S. It was the archetypal onslaught connected the Houthis nether the 2nd Trump administration.

The USS Harry S. Truman bearer onslaught group, which includes the carrier, 3 Navy destroyers and 1 cruiser, is successful the Red Sea and was portion of the mission. The USS Georgia cruise rocket submarine has besides been operating successful the region.