/ After American and British planes, ships and submarines carried out strikes across Yemen on targets of the Houthi movement in response to attacks carried out by the movement on ships in the Red Sea, the White House justified its attacks as “defensive” with the possibility of launching more, and as a NATO spokesman explained The strikes aim to protect freedom of navigation in one of the most important waterways in the world. He stressed that Tehran bears a special responsibility to curb its agents.
American media reported that fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles were used in the joint operation.
Washington said it benefited from the support of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain.
The British government explained that it deployed four FGR4 Typhoon fighter planes to raid with laser-guided bombs two sites from which the Houthis “launch” marches, one of which is in the Abs region.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement, “These specific strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not turn a blind eye to attacks on our personnel or allow hostile parties to endanger freedom of navigation.”
Biden added in a statement issued by the White House, “The strikes are a direct response to the Houthis’ unprecedented attacks against international ships in the Red Sea, including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.”
He continued, “These attacks put American personnel, civilian sailors, and our partners at risk, undermined trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.”
Biden said he “will not hesitate” to give directions for further action to protect individuals and the free flow of trade.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that the strikes targeted radars and infrastructure for drones and missiles, in an effort to weaken the Houthis’ capabilities to attack commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Austin said in a statement, “Today’s (Thursday) strikes targeted sites associated with Houthi drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, coastal radar capabilities, and air surveillance.”
Austin added, “This operation aims to disrupt and weaken the Houthis’ ability to endanger sailors and threaten international trade in one of the most important sea lanes in the world.”
A senior Biden administration official told reporters that the strikes were “significant” and expectations were that they would “significantly weaken the Houthis’ capabilities.”
A US Department of Defense spokesman confirmed that the initial assessment indicates that the strikes on the Houthis had good effects and we will continue to monitor the situation.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday that he believes the strikes will weaken the capacity of the Iran-allied group.
“We have carried out a series of strikes with allies, which we believe will degrade and disable the capability – the types of things we have targeted – which are missile launch sites and drones,” Sunak told reporters during his visit to Ukraine.
He added, “Initial indicators say that these strikes were successful… Our goal is very clear, which is to calm tensions and restore stability in the region.”
A NATO spokesman said the strikes in Yemen were “defensive and aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most important waterways.”
The spokesman added, “The Houthi forces receive support, supply and equipment from Iran. Therefore, Tehran bears a special responsibility to curb its agents.”
The military spokesman for the Houthis, who control vast parts of northern Yemen, most notably the capital, Sanaa, said that the strikes targeted military sites in the capital, Sanaa, and the governorates of Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah, and Saada.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that 73 strikes led to the death of five of the movement’s fighters and the wounding of six.
In turn, the Houthis’ Al-Masirah channel reported that the strikes targeted airports and military bases in several Yemeni cities.
The channel indicated that the strikes targeted “Al-Dailami Air Base north of the capital, the vicinity of Hodeidah Airport, areas in Zabid District, Kahlan Camp east of Saada City, Taiz Airport, 22nd Brigade Camp in Al-Ta’iziyah District, and the airport in Abs District.”
Video clips circulated on social media showed explosions lighting up the sky, loud bangs, and the roar of planes.
One of them wrote that they were strikes targeting Al-Dailami Air Base, while the video’s cameraman said that he showed “the missile strike that was launched a short while ago.”
A US official told Reuters that the attacks targeted more than ten sites and that the strikes were aimed at weakening the Houthis’ military capabilities and were not just symbolic.
He added, “We targeted very specific capabilities in specific locations using precision munitions.”
The British Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “initial indications indicate that the Houthis’ ability to threaten commercial shipping has taken a significant hit.”
The strikes are the first by the United States on Yemeni soil since 2016 and the first time it has attacked the Iran-allied Houthis on this scale.
This attack comes a week after 12 countries led by the United States warned the Houthis that they would face consequences if they continued targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, one of the most important waterways for global trade.
The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships at the entrance to the Red Sea since October, which is one of the busiest global trade routes, as it is the main corridor between Europe and Asia and represents about 15 percent of global shipping traffic.
The attacks carried out by the Houthis disrupted international trade and forced some ships to take the longest route around southern Africa, which increased the cost and time of transporting goods and fueled fears of a new wave of high inflation globally and disrupted the global economic recovery by obstructing supply chains.
During the past weeks, the Houthis launched more than 25 attacks targeting commercial ships they suspected of being linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing a war with Israel since October 7.