On 15 March, US F/A-18 jets from Squadron VFA-143 prepared to launch an assault on the Houthis in Yemen.
They departed from the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, which was navigating northwest of Jeddah under the protection of three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and a Ticonderoga-class cruiser in a robust defensive formation. Meanwhile, the USS Georgia submarine operated in the Gulf of Aden to the south, while advanced MQ-9 attack drones, employed from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, patrolled Yemeni airspace.
The attack marked the onset of the most intense and decisive US strikes against the Houthis yet, unmatched by any prior operations.
More than 47 raids targeted at least seven provinces, concentrating on weapons storage sites and missile-launch platforms in the Mukayras area, a facility for manufacturing weapons and explosives, and gatherings of Houthi elements in the capital, Sanaa, as well as in the provinces of Dhamar, Al-Bayda, Saada, Hajjah, and Taiz.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump wrote on X that “I ordered the United States military to launch decisive and powerful action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.”
It is not just the number of strikes that reflects the size of the attacks unleashed by the US, but also their immense firepower. These included dozens of highly destructive munitions such as Tomahawk missiles launched from ships and submarines, and particularly the use of the AGM-154 and 84 SLAMER, renowned for their capability to obliterate fortified and resilient targets from long distances, one of the lessons learned from last month’s incident when Houthi air-defence missiles were launched at a US F-16 fighter jet.
A Houthi spokesperson announced that the group had managed to attack a US aircraft carrier using a combined assault of ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles. However, there has been no confirmation of any successful hits, which is typically due to the effectiveness of US air defences, achieved through the integration of fighter jets and ship-based air-defence systems.
Politically, the US airstrikes against the Houthis are interpreted as a warning message to Iran. However, Tehran has seemingly distanced itself from them.
Al-Ahram Weekly spoke to Andreas Krieg of Kings College London and Sayed Ghoneim, a fellow of the Military Academy for Advanced and Strategic Studies and the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, for insight into the strikes.
“The strikes are the largest and most significant military action that US President Donald Trump has undertaken in his second term and reflect Trump’s criticism of his predecessor, accusing [former President Joe] Biden of extreme weakness that failed to prevent the Houthis from continuing their attacks,” Ghoneim said.
“The objective is to send a warning to Iran, as Trump attempts to persuade Tehran to sign up to an agreement limiting its nuclear programme and long-range missiles, preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons. It is expected that the air and naval strikes will continue for several days or weeks, expanding in scope depending on the Houthis’ response.”
Commenting on the strikes against the Houthis and the tensions with Iran, Krieg said that “I think these are two separate issues, the issue of Yemen and the war between the US and the Houthis. This campaign has nothing to do with the relationship between the United States and Iran. I don’t think it will undermine the potential negotiations between Iran and the United States. The Iranians will see this as a separate issue. The United States sees what happens around the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait as a separate issue as well.”
“Obviously, the Trump administration wants to put pressure on the Houthis and on the axis of resistance. It wants to put pressure on Iran and to degrade the axis of resistance, but it wants to do that without escalating to a full-blown war between the US and Iran.”
A spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that “we have always declared, and we declare today, that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land and have an independent national policy.”
This was despite the presence of Iranian naval ships in the Red Sea since the beginning of the escalation. There are suspicions that these ships have provided the Houthis with the information needed to target vessels. Three warships belonging to the Iranian 94th flotilla are located near Djibouti, including the frigate Alborz and the spy ship Behshad, according to open source intelligence.
“What caught my attention is that this is the first time we have heard news of US strikes on the Houthis explicitly stating they were ordered by US President Donald Trump,” Ghoneim said.
“It is likely that the US will continue its attacks in the coming weeks, especially since the Houthis are expected to retaliate with counterattacks against US forces in the Red Sea and possibly the region. This would be met with even harsher US responses, which I believe are already planned and ready for execution.”
“Bearing in mind that the US strikes against the Houthis likely came after Iran failed to respond to Trump’s message in a timely manner, the attacks are also, at least partially, directed against Iran itself,” he added.
However, commentators say that the US is striving to avoid a direct confrontation with Iran despite the Israeli pressure for it, as shown in the Israeli media after the strikes.
“Even though the Israelis are trying to lobby for what they call a limited strike on Iran, the Trump administration is not interested in getting sucked into a major escalation with Iran,” Krieg commented.
“I think there is a good understanding that there are no limited strikes on Iran. They will always escalate. So, what we see here is that the strikes on the Houthis will be about degrading the Houthis network.”
“We have also seen that the Iranians have lost some leverage over the Houthis. So, even though the Iranians told mediators in Oman that they were trying to scale back some of the attacks on shipping, it doesn’t seem as if the Iranians have that much influence over the Houthis,” Krieg said.
“The Houthis are doing their own thing. They have agency, and they are an autonomous part of the axis of resistance.”
The Houthis have faced many air campaigns before, whether from the US Navy, the Israeli Air Force, or even the Arab Coalition’s air forces in Yemen. They have adapted by exploiting the rugged mountainous terrain in Yemen to hide facilities for manufacturing missiles and drones.
They also rely on dispersed Iranian logistical supply routes that are difficult to track and disrupt, even with the heavy presence of US Navy, Coast Guard, and European task forces in the region.
However, there seems to be a shift in the US strategy, with the attacks becoming more intense and aggressive, aiming to pressure Iran into halting its support for the Houthis in Yemen.
This situation somewhat mirrors the confrontation between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon, where Iran’s influence in the Middle East is also being systematically dismantled. Ultimately, Iran may find itself isolated, facing the US alone and compelled to accept American terms regarding its nuclear programme.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 20 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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