Trump vows to ‘annihilate’ Houthis, warns Iran against support, as US strikes Yemen
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels “will be completely annihilated,” warning Tehran against continuing to provide aid for the group during an ongoing US military campaign against them.
“Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY. Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The American leader referred to reports that Iran “has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support” for the Houthis, though he added that “they are still sending large levels of Supplies.”
“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. They will be completely annihilated!” his post continued.
Shortly before Trump posted his threat to Iran and the Houthis on social media, the US military carried out a series of airstrikes on a Houthi stronghold in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, three residents told Reuters.
The strikes hit a neighborhood close to the capital’s airport, the residents said.
According to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, “an American attack targeted the capital Sanaa… and the area of the town of Saada” in the north. It later added that strikes had also hit the district of Al-Sawadiya, southeast of Sanaa.
The United States began launching heavy strikes against the Houthis on Saturday, as Washington pledged overwhelming force until the rebels stop firing on key shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
On Saturday, the Houthi-run health ministry said US strikes killed 53 people and wounded nearly 100 others. The United States has said the attacks killed several top officials.
On Tuesday, the rebels took responsibility for a missile fired at Israel and intercepted, and vowed to escalate attacks, in the wake of the resumption of massive military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The missile, which the Houthis said targeted an airbase, was the first reported attack on Israel from Yemen since a January 19 ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
