1711
Views

Trump Threatens Houthis With "Annihilation"

Crew of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman launch another round of airstrikes on Houthi positions, March 19 (USN)
Crew of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman launch another round of airstrikes on Houthi positions, March 19 (USN)

Published Mar 19, 2025 9:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

U.S. forces continued airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen for the fifth day on Wednesday, hitting targets in Sanaa and al-Bayda, according to Houthi media. The strikes followed one day after Houthi forces launched a ballistic missile at Israel; the attempt was not successful, and the missile was shot down by Israeli air defenses. 

In a statement on his social media platform, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the Houthis with destruction if they did not cease attacks on international shipping. 

"Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse — it’s not even a fair fight, and never will be," Trump said. "They will be completely annihilated!"

He added that the U.S. believes that Iran has ceased sending major weapons systems to the terrorist group, but continues to send "supplies" - unacceptable to the Trump administration.

"Iran must stop the sending of these supplies immediately," he said. "Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly."

Houthi leaders claimed that they shot down another U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone over Yemen, and threatened to continue attacks on U.S. interests. 

"[Houthi forces] will escalate their military operations against the Zionist enemy unless the brutal aggression on Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted," Houthi leadership said in a statement on Tuesday.

The U.S. Navy says that Houthi forces have yet to hit an American warship after more than a year of drone and missile engagements in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. However, the service's successful defense has come at a high cost in the form of expensive, hard-to-replace Standard Missiles, used to shoot down Houthi threats at long range. The U.S. Air Force has adapted the use of a small laser-guided rocket munition - developed for counterterror/counterinsurgency airstrikes - to destroy Houthi drones more economically, U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.