By The Daily Caller (World News) | Created at 2025-03-16 03:15:57 | Updated at 2025-03-16 17:55:52
16 hours ago
The U.S. military began a large-scale operation Saturday against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen to defend American interests and global maritime trade, President Donald Trump announced.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it launched “precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
A video accompanying CENTCOM’s statement shows fighter jets taking off from an aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, deployed in the Red Sea as part of a strike group. Other videos posted by CENTCOM show a warship firing missiles and a missile hitting a target.
CENTCOM operations against Iran-backed Houthis continue… pic.twitter.com/DYvc3gREN8
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2025
Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group unleashed lethal precision today on Houthi targets in Yemen. Ready 24/7, America’s Navy is forward-deployed where it matters. #NavyReady https://t.co/liMIBUpyiU
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) March 15, 2025
President Trump announced he ordered the “decisive and powerful” operation. (RELATED: Trump Slaps Yemeni Jihadists Back On Terrorist List After Biden Removed Them)
The Houthis “have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones” costing the U.S. and the global economy “many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump declared.
President Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend US shipping assets and deter terrorist threats.
For too long American economic & national threats have been under assault by the Houthis. Not under this presidency. pic.twitter.com/FLC0E8Xkly
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 15, 2025
No ship sailing under the American flag has “safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden” over the past year, Trump added. An American warship last sailed through the Red Sea four months ago, but not without being attacked by the Houthis over 12 times, he added.
“The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends,” Trump said.
He pledged the use of “overwhelming lethal force” against the Houthis, whose time, he said, was up. He also warned Iran to stop backing the Houthis or else “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
Commander in Chief 🇺🇸 https://t.co/vKnV775JRI pic.twitter.com/U0ZFu2kOQg
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 15, 2025
The Houthis crippled commercial navigation of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as they struck various commercial vessels — including a U.S. cargo ship in January 2024 — as an expression of support for Gaza’s Hamas as Israel’s Operation Swords of Iron against the Palestinian terrorist organization comtinues.
Their attacks drove up shipping costs and consumer prices on certain goods. It also indirectly caused the deaths of several livestock as ships transporting them had to turn back or consider navigating longer routes.
