Donald Trump launches wave of air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis

The US has launched a “decisive and powerful” wave of air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, US President Donald Trump has said, citing the armed group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

“Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform, adding this had cost “billions of dollars” and put lives at risk.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least nine had been killed and nine injured in the strikes.

The group – which began targeting shipping in response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza – told Arab media that it would continue its attacks.

Trump said that it had been more than a year since a US-flagged ship had sailed safely through the Suez Canal – which the Red Sea leads to – and four months since a US warship had been through the body of water between east Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

These attacks, he said, “will not be tolerated”.

“We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”

Addressing the Houthis directly, Trump wrote that if they did not stop, “HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE”.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Houthi’s “benefactor”, Iran, was “on notice”.

The Houthis are an Iranian-backed rebel group, which considers Israel its enemy. It has launched numerous attacks on commercial vessels travelling through the Red Sea since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Initially, the group said they were attacking ships connected with Israel, or heading to or from there. However, many of the vessels have no connection with Israel.

For more than a year major shipping companies were forced to stop using the Red Sea – through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes – and instead used a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

Trump urged Iran to cease its support for the Houthis, warning that the US “will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it”.

He also accused the previous White House administration under Joe Biden of being “pathetically weak” and allowing the “unrestrained Houthis” to keep going.