DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Amidst ongoing American airstrikes, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday, stating they would be “completely annihilated.” He also increased pressure on Iran, the group’s primary supporter.
The Houthi’s al-Maisrah satellite news channel reported that Sanaa, the rebel-held capital of Yemen, and Saada, their stronghold in the northwest, were hit by strikes on Wednesday night. The channel broadcasted footage of firefighters tackling a blaze in Sanaa and damage to what it described as a sheep farm in al-Jawf.
The news channel also reported strikes overnight on Tuesday, though the U.S. military has not specified the locations targeted since the airstrike campaign began. The initial strikes this past weekend resulted in at least 53 fatalities, including children, and numerous injuries.
As the strikes were underway, Trump posted on his Truth Social website, stating that “tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians.”
Trump further added, “Watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated!”
Trump also reiterated his warning to Iran against arming the Houthis, alleging, without providing evidence, that Tehran “has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support to the Houthis.”
He wrote, “Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY.”
Iran has a long history of arming the Houthis, who belong to Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect, which governed Yemen for a millennium until 1962. Despite substantial evidence, including seizures and expert analysis linking weapons to Iran, Tehran consistently denies arming the rebels. This denial is likely motivated by a desire to avoid sanctions for violating the United Nations arms embargo on the Houthis.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged Trump’s comments and referenced prior remarks by Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, who dismissed Trump’s accusations as “baseless.”
Between November 2023 and the start of a ceasefire in Gaza in January of this year, Houthi rebels launched attacks on over 100 merchant vessels using missiles and drones, resulting in the sinking of two vessels and the deaths of four sailors. The campaign also significantly elevated the Houthis’ prominence in the Arab world and reduced public criticism regarding their human rights abuses, crackdowns on dissent, and targeting of aid workers.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency acknowledged on Thursday that the rebels had taken food aid from a World Food Program warehouse without authorization, stating that approximately 20% of the available aid was removed.
Following the detention of numerous U.N. workers and others, the U.N. suspended its operations in Saada in February due to security concerns. One WFP staff member died while imprisoned by the Houthis.
