Why it matters:
Given the critical and security conditions in the West Asian region, U.S. military aggression against independent countries is a major challenge to establishing security and stability in the region.
The big picture:
Under the direction of Ansarullah's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, Yemen's Armed Forces initiated targeted attacks on critical Israeli locations in October 2023. This action was in response to the Israeli regime's heavily U.S.-supported campaign in the Gaza Strip. It intensified limitations on essential supplies like food, medicine, and other vital resources into the region.
Key points:
- Yemen’s Armed Forces resumed enforcing the country’s ban on Israeli vessels crossing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.
-
An American official stated that the aggression was not a one-time event but the start of ongoing attacks on Yemen that could extend for days or weeks.
-
The Houthis' political bureau labeled the strikes, the first under Donald Trump's presidency starting in January, as a "war crime."
-
Earlier this month, the Trump administration reclassified the Houthi group as a "foreign terrorist organization," prohibiting all U.S. engagement with them.
-
The Supreme Political Council of Yemen's Ansarullah stated that targeting civilians exposed U.S. weakness and vowed to continue supporting Gaza, escalating the situation further.
-
Sana'a confirms that international navigation in the Red Sea is secure from Yemen's end. The American airstrikes aim to remilitarize the Red Sea, posing the actual threat to regional international navigation.
Go deeper:
Yemen is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, with millions in need of aid, and further bombings could exacerbate the situation, leading to more civilian casualties.
Trump orders airstrikes on Sana'a to shield Israel from Yemen’s fury
Ashkan Salehian