President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to a fiery Truth Social post published on Saturday.
In the post, Trump wrote that he had “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.”
“They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump wrote.
Trump also criticized his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, writing that the Democratic president’s response to the terrorist group “was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going.”
“It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden,” Trump continued. “The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times….These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”
“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!” HIS POST CONCLUDED.
The latest military action comes three weeks after the Houthis fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at a U.S. F-16 fighter jet. Three senior U.S. defense officials told Fox News that the Feb. 19 incident marked the first time the Houthis had fired SAMs at a U.S. jet.
The missiles did not impact the F-16, and the Houthis unsuccessfully fired another SAM at an American MQ-9 Reaper drone on the same day.
In January, Trump re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), four years after his first administration made an identical move that the Biden administration later reversed.
“Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,” the order noted.
