The Houthis say they are continuing their attacks on US warships in the Red Sea. Their claims come more than two weeks after the US began attacking the Houthis on March 15.
The US has demanded that the Houthis stop attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have shown no interest in ceasing their attacks. In fact, they escalated their strikes against Israel over the past two weeks, launching around a dozen ballistic missiles.The question now is what comes next? The Houthis are not showing any signs of stopping and are trying to put a brave face on their efforts.
The reality is that they do not have a huge arsenal, and they don’t seem to be able to damage the US warships.Their ballistic missiles fired at Israel have been intercepted, and some have disintegrated during the 2,000-km. flight from Yemen.
The Houthis successfully fought the Saudis from 2015-2022. Riyadh had intervened in Yemen to back its government against the Houthis.The Houthis fought the Saudis to a standstill and also made gains in Yemen. They receive backing from Iran, and this was part of Iran’s proxy war on Riyadh. Nevertheless, it shows that bringing the Houthis to heel may not be so easy.The Houthis “say they have launched a large-scale attack on American warships in the Red Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, using cruise missiles and drones,” Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s official news agency, reported Thursday.The Houthis claimed this was in response to “the American aggression against our country… Our military operations against the American enemy will continue, targeting their warships in the declared operational zone with increasing intensity,” the report said.The Houthis said they are continuing to target Israeli ships that are navigating the Red Sea. Usually, this means attacking commercial ships that the Houthis claim are linked to Israel.“The [Houthi] statement stressed that these operations would persist until Israel’s military assault on Gaza ends and the siege is lifted,” IRNA reported.
Trump wants an easy win
The Trump administration likely wanted an easy win against the Houthis, who were seen as an obvious target for the US to use airpower against. They had threatened shipping, and the US has supported the freedom of navigation on the high seas for more than a century.
But not every member of the US administration was said to be as enthusiastic. It appears that US Vice President JD Vance was skeptical of the policy.
If the strikes don’t result in a victory in the next several weeks, Vance’s skepticism may be proven correct. If so, it could lead to the Trump administration being more reticent to try to use air power as a magic wand in other circumstances.