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US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen over the group's attacks targeting Red Sea shipping, in the largest military operation in the Middle East since he took office in January.
At least 31 people were killed and 101 injured, of whom "most were children and women" in the attacks, Yemen's Health Ministry spokesman Anis Al Asbahi said in a statement on Sunday. The Houthis' political bureau said the US strikes were a “war crime”.
“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation,” it said.
Mr Trump also warned Iran it needed to immediately end support for the Houthis, adding that if Tehran threated Washington, “America will hold you fully accountable and we won't be nice about it!"
“To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today. If they don't. hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before!" Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The White House said on Sunday the strikes had killed "multiple" Houthi leaders in Yemen, and that Iran has been "put on notice" to stop backing the rebel group and its attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The strikes "actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out", National Security Adviser Michael Waltz told ABC News. "We just hit them with overwhelming force and put Iran on notice that enough is enough," he said in a separate appearance on Fox News.
The strikes come at a time of increasing US pressure on Iran and its proxies in the region. Mr Trump has also increased sanctions and his policy of “maximum pressure” in Iran while trying to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy”.
“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people,” he said in an X post on early Sunday.
Iran's regional allies have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon have suffered huge blows, including to their leadership. Another key Iranian ally, Bashar Al Assad, was also overthrown by rebels in Syria in December.
However, the Houthis have remained determined in their campaign, sinking two ships, seizing another and disrupting global shipping with their attacks, forcing companies to reroute to longer and costly journeys.
On Thursday, the Houthis threatened to resume attacks on Israeli ships travelling in the Red Sea, after Israel failed to resume aid deliveries to Gaza. After a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Houthis said that they would halt attacks on most vessels in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks on international ships, threatening international trade routes, in what they said was an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The US redesignated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organisation this month, reversing a Joe Biden-era policy.
The US military's Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday's strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
“Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Freedom of Navigation will be restored.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday to inform him about the strikes on Yemen, in an apparent attempt to improve ties with Moscow. Russia has good ties with Iran and has relied on Iranian weaponry in its war in Ukraine.
For his part, Mr Lavrov called on both sides to "immediately cease the use of force and the importance for all Sides to engage in political dialogue so as to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed".
The strikes come only days after Mr Trump sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offering to hold talks on Tehran's nuclear programme. Mr Khamenei rejected the proposed negotiations.
