WASHINGTON — The U.S. military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, two U.S. officials said, a day after the U.S. and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels.
Associated Press journalists in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, heard one loud explosion.
The first day of strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets. However, the U.S. determined the additional location, a radar site, still presented a threat to maritime traffic, one official said.
The officials spoke anonymously to the AP to discuss an operation that hadn’t yet been publicly announced.
President Joe Biden had warned Friday that the Houthis could face further strikes.
Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP
An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off Thursday in Cyprus for a mission to strike targets in Yemen.
The latest strike came after the U.S. Navy on Friday warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours after the U.S. and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels.
The warning came as Yemen’s Houthis vowed fierce retaliation for the U.S.-led strikes, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.
U.S. military and White House officials said they expected the Houthis to try to strike back.
The U.S.-led bombardment — launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea — killed at least five people and wounded six, the Houthis said. The U.S. said the strikes, in two waves, took aim at targets in 28 different locations across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Biden told reporters during a stop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Asked if he believes the Houthis are a terrorist group, Biden responded, “I think they are.” The president in a later exchange with reporters during a stop in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said whether the Houthis are redesignated as such was “irrelevant.”
Biden also pushed back against some lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who said he should have sought congressional authorization before carrying out the strikes.
“They’re wrong, and I sent up this morning when the strikes occurred exactly what happened,” Biden said.
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the military action from the hospital where he is recovering from complications following prostate cancer surgery.
The White House said in November that it was considering redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organization after they began their targeting of civilian vessels. The administration formally delisted the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “specially designated global terrorists” in 2021, undoing a move by President Donald Trump
Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Friday’s U.S. strikes were largely in low-populated areas, and the number of those killed would not be high. He said the strikes hit weapons, radar and targeting sites, including in remote mountain areas.
As the bombing lit the predawn sky over multiple sites held by the Iranian-backed rebels, it forced the world to again focus on Yemen’s yearslong war, which began when the Houthis seized the country’s capital.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade and energy shipments.
The Houthis’ military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said in a recorded address that the U.S. strikes would “not go unanswered or unpunished.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat and former U.S. intelligence official, welcomed the U.S. strikes but expressed concern Iran was aiming to draw the U.S. deeper into conflict.
“We should be worried about regional escalation,” Slotkin wrote on X. “Iran uses groups like the Houthis to fight their battles, maintain plausible deniability and prevent a direct conflict with the U.S. or others. … It needs to stop, and my hope is they’ve gotten the message.”
Biden told reporters that Iran has received a clear message. “I already delivered the message to Iran. They know not to do anything,” he said.
Though the Biden administration and its allies have tried to calm tensions in the Middle East for weeks and prevent any wider conflict, the strikes threatened to ignite one.
Saudi Arabia — which supports the government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting — quickly sought to distance itself from the attacks as it seeks to maintain a delicate détente with Iran and a cease-fire it has in Yemen. The Saudi-led, U.S.-backed war in Yemen has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
It remained unclear how extensive the damage was from Friday’s strikes, though the Houthis said at least five sites, including airfields, had been attacked. The White House said the U.S. military was still assessing the extent the militants’ capabilities might have been degraded.
U.S. Air Forces Central Command said the strikes focused on the Houthi’s command and control nodes, munition depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems. The strikes involved more than 150 precision-guided munitions including air-launched missiles by F/A-18 Super Hornets based on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Tomahawk missiles from the Navy destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason, the Navy cruiser USS Philippine Sea, and a U.S. submarine.
The United Kingdom said strikes hit a site in Bani allegedly used by the Houthis to launch drones and an airfield in Abbs used to launch cruise missiles and drones.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced it imposed sanctions on two firms in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for allegedly shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran-based Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. Four vessels owned by the firms were also identified as blocked property.
In a separate development, Iran released footage of its seizure of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that once had been at the center of a dispute between Tehran and Washington.
In the footage, a helicopter hovers over the deck of the St. Nikolas. Iran’s navy seized the vessel Thursday. The vessel had been known earlier as the Suez Rajan. The U.S. seized 1 million barrels of sanctioned Iranian oil off the vessel last year.
In Yemen, Hussein al-Ezzi, a Houthi official in their Foreign Ministry, said that “America and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression.”
Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP
An RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to base Thursday night at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after striking targets in Yemen. T
The Red Sea route is a crucial waterway, and attacks there have caused severe disruptions to global trade. Benchmark Brent crude oil traded up some 4% Friday at over $80 a barrel. Tesla, meanwhile, said it would temporarily halt most production at its German factory because of attacks in the Red Sea.
In Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in northwest Yemen, hundreds gathered for a rally Friday, denouncing the U.S. and Israel. Another drew thousands in Sanaa, the capital.
Houthis now control territory that is home to some two-thirds of Yemen’s population of 34 million. War and misgovernment have made Yemen one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, and the World Food Program considers the vast majority of Yemen’s people as food-insecure.
Yemen has been targeted by U.S. military action over the last four American presidencies. A campaign of drone strikes began under President George W. Bush to target the local affiliate of al-Qaida, attacks that have continued under the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the U.S. has launched raids and other military operations amid the ongoing war in Yemen.
That war began when the Houthis swept into Sanaa in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition including the United Arab Emirates launched a war to back Yemen’s exiled government in 2015, quickly morphing the conflict into a regional confrontation as Iran backed the Houthis with weapons and other support.
The conflict, however, has slowed as the Houthis maintain their grip on the territory they hold. In March, Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated deal to restart relations with Iran in hopes of ultimately withdrawing from the war.
Iran condemned Friday’s attack in a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.
“Arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region,” he said.
Read more:
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US military launches new strikes on Houthi site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
Steve Helber, Associated Press
The Houthis are Iranian-backed rebels who seized most of northern Yemen and the country's capital of Sanaa in 2014. The following year, a Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict, seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power.
The Houthis have sporadically targeted ships in the region, but the attacks have increased since the start of the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas war. They have used drones and anti-ship missiles to attack vessels and in one case used a helicopter to board and seize an Israeli-owned ship and its crew.
They have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel. That's now escalated to apparently any vessel, with container ships and oil tankers flagged to countries like Norway and Liberia being attacked or drawing missile fire.
Above: The USS Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, passes a dock in Norfolk, Va., April 8, 2021.
Steve Helber, Associated Press
The Houthis are Iranian-backed rebels who seized most of northern Yemen and the country's capital of Sanaa in 2014. The following year, a Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict, seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power.
The Houthis have sporadically targeted ships in the region, but the attacks have increased since the start of the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas war. They have used drones and anti-ship missiles to attack vessels and in one case used a helicopter to board and seize an Israeli-owned ship and its crew.
They have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel. That's now escalated to apparently any vessel, with container ships and oil tankers flagged to countries like Norway and Liberia being attacked or drawing missile fire.
Above: The USS Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, passes a dock in Norfolk, Va., April 8, 2021.
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US military launches new strikes on Houthi site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
UK Ministry of Defence via AP
The Red Sea has the Suez Canal at its northern end and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end, leading into the Gulf of Aden. It's a busy waterway with ships traversing the Suez Canal to bring goods between Asia and Europe and beyond.
In fact, 40% of Asia-Europe trade normally goes through the area, including a huge amount of oil and diesel fuel for import-dependent Europe. So do food products like palm oil and grain and anything else brought over on container ships, which is most of the world’s manufactured products.
In all, about 30% of global container traffic and more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day typically head through the Suez Canal, according to global freight booking platform Freightos Group.
Above: Sea Viper missiles are prepared Jan. 10, 2024, to be fired in the Red Sea from the operation room of HMS Diamond.
UK Ministry of Defence via AP
The Red Sea has the Suez Canal at its northern end and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end, leading into the Gulf of Aden. It's a busy waterway with ships traversing the Suez Canal to bring goods between Asia and Europe and beyond.
In fact, 40% of Asia-Europe trade normally goes through the area, including a huge amount of oil and diesel fuel for import-dependent Europe. So do food products like palm oil and grain and anything else brought over on container ships, which is most of the world’s manufactured products.
In all, about 30% of global container traffic and more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day typically head through the Suez Canal, according to global freight booking platform Freightos Group.
Above: Sea Viper missiles are prepared Jan. 10, 2024, to be fired in the Red Sea from the operation room of HMS Diamond.
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US military launches new strikes on Houthi site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
UK Ministry of Defence via AP
Huge shipping container companies, including Maersk, are avoiding the Red Sea and sending their ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. That adds a week to two weeks to voyages and increases costs for for shipping, fuel and more.
At least 90% of the container ships that had been going through the Suez Canal are now rerouting around the tip of Africa, said Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research for Drewry, a maritime research consultancy.
The cost to ship a standard 40-foot container from China to northern Europe has jumped from $1,500 to $4,000, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany. But that is still far from the $14,000 seen during the pandemic.
The delays contributed to a 1.3% decline in world trade in December, reflecting goods stuck on ships rather than being offloaded in port.
“There will be initial shock and there will be possibly initial shortages of parts that will potentially slow up production,” Heaney said.
But “pretty soon,” the system “will adjust to the new reality of having to go around the Cape” and manufacturers have to prepare and plan for longer wait times, Heaney said.
He thinks the crisis is shaping up to last for months, but that shipping has more capacity — unlike during the pandemic — and lessons from that time mean companies have more inventory on hand. Plus, shipping costs are a tiny fraction of the value of items.
“Noticeable consequences for consumer prices in Europe are scarcely to be expected, since the share of freight costs in the value of high priced goods such as consumer electronics is a fraction of a percent,” said Julian Hinz, director of the Research Center Trade Policy at Kiel.
However, analysts at JP Morgan say that the cost increase could slow the recent decline in inflation: “While these cost increases are coming off low levels, they will reinforce the fading of recent deflationary dynamics for goods prices.”
Above: Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, seen from the bridge of HMS Diamond.
UK Ministry of Defence via AP
Huge shipping container companies, including Maersk, are avoiding the Red Sea and sending their ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. That adds a week to two weeks to voyages and increases costs for for shipping, fuel and more.
At least 90% of the container ships that had been going through the Suez Canal are now rerouting around the tip of Africa, said Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research for Drewry, a maritime research consultancy.
The cost to ship a standard 40-foot container from China to northern Europe has jumped from $1,500 to $4,000, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany. But that is still far from the $14,000 seen during the pandemic.
The delays contributed to a 1.3% decline in world trade in December, reflecting goods stuck on ships rather than being offloaded in port.
“There will be initial shock and there will be possibly initial shortages of parts that will potentially slow up production,” Heaney said.
But “pretty soon,” the system “will adjust to the new reality of having to go around the Cape” and manufacturers have to prepare and plan for longer wait times, Heaney said.
He thinks the crisis is shaping up to last for months, but that shipping has more capacity — unlike during the pandemic — and lessons from that time mean companies have more inventory on hand. Plus, shipping costs are a tiny fraction of the value of items.
“Noticeable consequences for consumer prices in Europe are scarcely to be expected, since the share of freight costs in the value of high priced goods such as consumer electronics is a fraction of a percent,” said Julian Hinz, director of the Research Center Trade Policy at Kiel.
However, analysts at JP Morgan say that the cost increase could slow the recent decline in inflation: “While these cost increases are coming off low levels, they will reinforce the fading of recent deflationary dynamics for goods prices.”
Above: Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, seen from the bridge of HMS Diamond.
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US military launches new strikes on Houthi site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
Maxar Technologies via AP
Crude prices rose about 4% following the U.S.-led airstrikes. International benchmark Brent traded at around $78 per barrel Friday, still down from about $84 on the eve of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
“While this puts upwards pressure on global oil prices, it is unlikely to represent a serious energy supply shock for now,” Simone Tagliapietra, an energy analyst at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, tweeted.
That could change if the Hamas-Israel and Houthi conflicts escalate and lead to trouble at the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, he said.
"That would have massive implications for global energy markets,” Tagliapietra said.
And White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, "We are monitoring conditions” on oil prices.
“Let me be very clear," Bates said. "It is the Houthis who have been endangering the freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”
Above: A satellite image shows damage from airstrikes Jan. 12, 2024, on a radar site at Sanaa Airport in Yemen.
Maxar Technologies via AP
Crude prices rose about 4% following the U.S.-led airstrikes. International benchmark Brent traded at around $78 per barrel Friday, still down from about $84 on the eve of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
“While this puts upwards pressure on global oil prices, it is unlikely to represent a serious energy supply shock for now,” Simone Tagliapietra, an energy analyst at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, tweeted.
That could change if the Hamas-Israel and Houthi conflicts escalate and lead to trouble at the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, he said.
"That would have massive implications for global energy markets,” Tagliapietra said.
And White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, "We are monitoring conditions” on oil prices.
“Let me be very clear," Bates said. "It is the Houthis who have been endangering the freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”
Above: A satellite image shows damage from airstrikes Jan. 12, 2024, on a radar site at Sanaa Airport in Yemen.
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US military launches new strikes on Houthi site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP
The U.S. is leading a security initiative to protect ships in the Red Sea that includes United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. The Houthis have no navy to impose a cordon, relying on harassing fire and only one helicopter-borne assault so far.
Friday's strikes killed at least five Houthi troops and wounded six, the rebels said, without elaborating on what was targeted. It was unclear how extensive the damage from the U.S. strikes were, though the Houthis said at least five sites, including airfields, had been attacked.
Above: An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off Jan. 11, 2024, from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, for a mission to strike targets in Yemen. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen the day before, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets.
Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP
The U.S. is leading a security initiative to protect ships in the Red Sea that includes United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. The Houthis have no navy to impose a cordon, relying on harassing fire and only one helicopter-borne assault so far.
Friday's strikes killed at least five Houthi troops and wounded six, the rebels said, without elaborating on what was targeted. It was unclear how extensive the damage from the U.S. strikes were, though the Houthis said at least five sites, including airfields, had been attacked.
Above: An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off Jan. 11, 2024, from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, for a mission to strike targets in Yemen. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen the day before, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets.
