Meanwhile, the Iranians continue to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Houthi supporters rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there. The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel put young boys on air live, who chanted the group's slogan: "God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam."
“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (regarding Gaza), so do whatever you (Americans) want, for we are men who fear no one but God," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the demonstration in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
The United Nations called for a halt to all military activities in Yemen and the Red Sea, urging “utmost restraint” and warning that “any additional escalation could exacerbate regional tensions,” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.
Trump links Iran to the Houthis
Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned any attack by the group would be met with “great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.”
“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump alleged in his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.'”
And in a marked departure from the previous administration, Trump has given U.S. Central Command the authority to launch offensive strikes against the Houthis when it deems it appropriate.
The Biden administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive strikes like the ones over the weekend. It did allow U.S. forces to launch defensive attacks, including to take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.
Delegating the authority to the regional commander, said Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis.” He added that it also allows the U.S. to hit a broader array of targets.
The U.S. officials said Trump made the decision last week.
The weekend strikes targeted headquarters positions and drone sites where what the Pentagon identified as “key leaders” for the Houthis’ drone program were located at the time, said Grynkewich.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that any civilians were killed in the attacks.
Iran warns US about ‘reckless’ words
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations delivered a strong rebuke Monday to Trump’s recent rhetoric about the Islamic Republic, saying Trump and U.S. officials are making “reckless and provocative statements” and threatened to retaliate if those words turn to actions.
In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said his country would “defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests under international law against any hostile action.”
It's unclear what sparked Trump's post. However, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate the Houthis' actions from those of Tehran this weekend. The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it continues flight operations in the region.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump added.
The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza. The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis' profile in the wider Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.
The Houthis claimed there had been additional U.S. airstrikes overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge them.
World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis
In Saada province, the Houthis' stronghold, the rebels raided a warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen's exiled government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from the facility without the WFP's permission in the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the Houthis' actions to The Associated Press.
“WFP regrets the de facto authorities' decision to seize some of the commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”
Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been on the precipice of famine for years. But the U.N. in February suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following the detentions of dozens of U.N. workers and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced one of its staffers died while imprisoned by the Houthis.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp in Washington, and Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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