The U.S. military carried out more direct attacks on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen late Wednesday, the Pentagon’s Central Command said, targeting 14 missiles and their launchers deemed to have posed an “imminent threat” to American warships and commercial vessels in the region.
The strikes just before midnight local time were the fourth U.S. attacks on Houthi targets in less than a week intended to deter the militants’ assaults on shipping, which began in response to Israel’s war against Hamas. The operation also came hours after the Biden administration announced it had relisted the Houthis as a recognized terrorist organization.
In a statement, Central Command said its forces “conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.” “These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” the statement continued.
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The Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent weeks, saying they are targeting Israel-linked ships out of solidarity with Palestinians in response to Tel Aviv’s bombardment of Gaza. The harassment has disrupted international maritime trade between Europe and Asia, with the militants vowing to keep up the attacks until Israel ends its war.
A drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen on Wednesday hit a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned ship in the most recent attack. The Houthis have continued their strikes undeterred even after a large operation Friday conducted by British and U.S. warships against 60 sites across Yemen and multiple warnings of further action.
The U.S. has also warned Iran to stop supplying weapons to the rebels. Last week, U.S. Navy SEALs raided a small ship off the coast of Somalia and found Iran-made missile components headed to the Houthis in Yemen. Two SEALs were lost at sea during the nighttime operation when one of them fell into the rough waters and a teammate jumped in to rescue them. A large search mission was launched to find the missing service members in the Gulf of Aden, and they remain unaccounted for as of Thursday.
Since the large joint operation last Friday, several more incidents involving the Houthis have unfolded in the region. Over the weekend, militants launched an anti-ship cruise missile at a U.S. Navy destroyer, which shot down the projectile before it reached its target. The Houthis then hit a U.S.-owned cargo ship off the coast of Yemen on Monday, though no injuries or significant damage were reported, with the rebels also claiming responsibility for a Tuesday missile attack on a Malta-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea. The U.S. struck four anti-ship ballistic missiles in response.
On Wednesday, the U.S. government formally relisted the Houthi militants as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The designation, which comes into force next month, is intended to “impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Sullivan added, “The United States will immediately reevaluate this designation.”
