Pentagon threatens to use ‘overwhelming, lethal force' against Houthis
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump threatened the Houthis with 'powerful military action' aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
Since October 2023, the Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, have launched multiple drones and missiles at Israeli-bound commercial vessels off Yemen's coast, disrupting key shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The group said that it is acting in support of the Palestinians amid Israel's military operation in Gaza.
During his briefing on Monday, Parnell insisted that the US will keep using 'overwhelming, lethal force' against the Houthis until they stop targeting American warships. He blamed the group for carrying out a total 170 attacks against US Navy ships and 145 against commercial vessels.
'There is a very clear end-state to this operation, and that begins the moment that the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk,' he said.
The spokesman stressed that the Yemeni militants 'could stop this tomorrow… but they have clearly chosen not to do that.' Because of this, the US 'campaign will be relentless to degrade their capability,' Parnell warned.
Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during the same briefing that the 'initial wave' of US strikes had hit more than 30 targets at multiple locations inside Yemen, inducing training sites, drone infrastructure, arms depots and command-and-control centers.
On Monday, Trump claimed that the Houthi attacks 'emanate from, and are created by, Iran,' warning that from now on, Washington would view every shot fired by the Yemeni group as if it was fired by Tehran. 'Iran will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire,' the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Tehran, which has consistently denied any involvement in the Houthis operations, condemned the US bombing of Yemen as a blatant violation of the UN Charter and a major threat to regional and international peace and security.
The Houthis said the same day that despite the US strikes, they will keep targeting vessels off Yemen's coast 'until aid and basic needs are delivered to the Gaza Strip.'
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