Smoke rises over Sanaa after U.S. strikes on March 15, 2025. (Khaled Abdullah / Reuters)
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have threatened to retaliate against U.S. airstrikes that targeted several of their strongholds, including the capital, Sanaa, and killed at least 31 people, according to a new insurgent toll released Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to bring “hell” upon the “Houthi terrorists” following their threats against maritime trade and Israel. He also warned Iran to end its support for the rebels. Tehran condemned the strikes as “barbaric” and warned it would respond to any attack. The Houthis, who control large swaths of war-torn Yemen, including Sanaa, said the U.S. airstrikes “will not go unanswered.” “Our armed forces are ready to respond to escalation with escalation,” the group’s political bureau said in a statement. The U.S. recently reclassified the Houthis as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’, a designation that imposes sanctions and limits financial interactions with the group.
Selon According to the Houthi Health Ministry, the strikes targeted Sanaa, as well as the governorates of Saada (north) and the city of Radaa, in Al-Bayda province (center). The attacks left at least 31 dead and 101 injured, "most of them children and women," said ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi. An AFP photographer in the Yemeni capital reported hearing three explosions and seeing plumes of smoke rising from a residential district in northern Sanaa. These are the first U.S. strikes against the Houthis since Donald Trump took office on January 20.
‘Overwhelming lethal force’
The United States has carried out “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis in Yemen, Trump said in a message on his Truth Social network. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we achieve our objective,” he warned. “Your attacks must stop starting today."
The Houthis are part of what Iran calls the "axis of resistance" against Israel, alongside the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Iraqi factions. They have launched several missile attacks on Israel and on ships suspected of ties to Israel, saying they act in solidarity with the Palestinians after the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Following the implementation of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza on January 19, the Houthis temporarily halted their attacks. However, on March 11, they announced their intention to resume attacks off the coast of Yemen against commercial ships they believe are linked to Israel, following Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Tehran rases its tone
“Do not threaten the American people, their president ... or global shipping lanes. And if you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!” Trump also warned Iran. Tehran responded through Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, stating that the “U.S. government has no authority and no right to dictate Iran’s foreign policy.” “Iran does not seek war, but if anyone threatens us, we will respond with appropriate, decisive, and conclusive action,” said Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The Houthis “make their own strategic and operational decisions” independently of Iran, he added.
The Houthi attacks on ships have disrupted traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a vital maritime route for global trade. This prompted the United States to establish a multinational naval coalition and carry out strikes on rebel targets in Yemen, sometimes with the assistance of the United Kingdom. According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, the Houthis have attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023. A poor country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been gripped by civil war since 2014, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe.
