The United States launched a formidable attack on the Houthis to free navigation.

President Donald Trump stated that the United States has launched "decisive and powerful" attacks against Houthi activists in Yemen last week, warning that U.S. military forces will use "overwhelming lethal force" until the Iran-backed rebels stop attacking cargo ships and clear the navigation routes in the region.

Trump explained that the airstrikes targeted Houthi bases, leaders, and missile defense systems to "protect U.S. maritime, air, and naval assets and restore freedom of navigation."

The president indicated in a post on Truth Social that "no terrorist force will stop U.S. commercial and naval vessels from freely navigating the world's waterways."

The attacks were carried out by Air Force strike aircraft and armed drones that took off from various bases in the region, as well as fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, according to sources close to the matter.

This would not be an isolated operation, but the first of many days, even weeks, of attacks, according to the source.

Trump noted that the Houthis have blocked global trade by obstructing navigation in one of the world's most important maritime routes, which has halted vast portions of international trade.

He stated that this attack not only affects the global economy but also attacks the essential principle of freedom of navigation on which international trade depends.

At the end of January, Trump signed an executive order to redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), citing their attacks on commercial vessels, U.S. Navy ships, and civilian infrastructure in the Middle East.

The Houthi-controlled broadcaster Al Masirah TV reported that U.S. attacks damaged several residential buildings in the Sha'ub district, north of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which has not been confirmed by any other source.

The Iran-backed Houthi group also announced on Tuesday that it would resume attacks on Israeli ships transiting the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.

The threat will remain until the crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened and the entry of humanitarian aid, food, and medicine is allowed, which are intercepted by Hamas and used to fund terrorism.

Since the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in the region, the Houthis have fired missiles and drones at ships. The United Kingdom, the United States, and Israel have replied to the attacks on several occasions, including U.S. retaliatory attacks in October of last year.

Trump also warned Iran that it must cease its support for the Houthis "immediately" and warned that if Iran threatens the United States or global maritime routes, Washington will hold it accountable in a forceful manner.