The US launched a wave of air attacks on Houthis across Yemen on Saturday which continued till Sunday. About 40 air raids are reported to have been undertaken, mainly by US fighter aircraft operating from the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier being deployed in the Red Sea.
The attacks—including in the capital Sanaa, Saada province, the governorates of Ibb, Al Bayda, Hajjah, Taiz, etc—are believed to have killed about 30 people and injured at least a hundred.
The US began the attacks after the Houthis threatened to resume attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels, who control large parts of Yemen had begun attacking ships in the Red Sea region since November 2023 as acts of solidarity in support of the Palestinians against Israel.
But there are several objectives the US hopes to achieve behind President Donald Trump’s order behind the large-scale attacks.
First, to serve as a warning to a defiant Iran with whom the US is keen to pursue nuclear talks. At the least, the US gains a bargaining ground during negotiations.
The Houthis are Shia militants who are closely supported by Iran and form part of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ which is a coalition of Iranian-backed militant and political organisations unified by the common objective to oppose the US and Israel. Besides the Houthis, the other entities in the Axis are the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the Popular Mobilization Forces, Hamas in Gaza and a few other Palestinian militant outfits.
Second, the smart businessman that President Trump is, he is more focused on undisturbed and unhindered trade on the most strategically important waterways. And what could be more vital than the main canals, like the Suez and Panama.
While in Panama, Trump has declared his intentions to “take back” the canal so as to counter from what he says is under "China’s control," Trump is reported to be exploring military options too to pursue his conviction. In 1999, the US handed over the complete control of the canal to the Panamian government.
On the Suez canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and is the key trade route between Europe and Asia and also Africa, the US wants to stamp its authority of dominance, all the more, because there has been a challenge to that hegemony by the Houthis.
Third, a rattled US may have also been prompted by a rapidly growing nexus between China, Russia and Iran—strongly exemplified by a joint naval war game by the three powers near the strategic port of Chabahar that ended on March 14, the same day that a joint declaration on "Iran’s nuclear issue" was issued by the three powers from Beijing.
The attack on a powerful Iranian proxy would send the message that the USD is still the 'top dog' when it comes to the waters around the Middle East region.