Photo: AP
Dubai: US President Donald Trump threatened Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday that they would be "completely annihilated" as American warplanes hammered areas under their control, putting additional pressure on the group's primary benefactor, Iran.
On Wednesday night, strikes hit Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, as well as their bastion of Saada in the country's northwest, according to the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah satellite news channel. It broadcast footage of firefighters battling a fire in Sanaa and damage to what it described as a sheep farm in Al-Jawf.
It also stated that strikes occurred overnight Tuesday, however, the US military has not provided a breakdown of the locations hit since the airstrike operation began. The first attacks this weekend killed at least 53 people, including children, and injured many others, AP, Reuters reported.
According to three residents, the strikes had hit the Al-Jarraf district of Sanaa, close to the city’s airport.
As the strikes hit, Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that “tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians.”
“Watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be,” Trump added. “They will be completely annihilated!”
Meanwhile, Trump without evidence that Tehran “has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support to the Houthis,” has again warned Iran not to arm the Houthis.
“Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY,” he wrote.
Iran has long armed the Houthis, who are part of the Shiite Zaydi sect that controlled Yemen for 1,000 years before 1962. Tehran frequently denies arming the rebels, despite tangible proof, several seizures, and expert testimony linking the weapons to Iran.
The UN has an existing arms ban on the Houthis. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged Trump's comments, citing previous remarks by Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, who said Trump made "baseless accusations."
Unfazed by US strikes and threats, the Houthis have stated that they will expand their attacks, especially against Israel, in reaction to the US onslaught.
The Houthis stated on Tuesday that they had fired a ballistic missile at Israel and that they would increase their target list in the coming days in response to renewed Israeli bombings in Gaza after weeks of relative peace.
Since Israel's war with Hamas began in late 2023, the Houthis have launched more than 100 strikes on ships, claiming to be acting in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinians. The strikes have interrupted global business and prompted the US military to launch an expensive missile interception campaign.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency admitted Thursday that Houthi fighters were taking food aid from a World Food Programme facility without permission. It stated that it took approximately 20% of the aid on hand.
The United Nations ceased its operations in Saada in February due to security concerns following the imprisonment of dozens of UN staffers and others. One WFP employee died while imprisoned by the Houthis.