http://archive.today/2025.03.15-181252/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/us/politics/us-attack-houthis.html

The United States began to carry out large-scale military strikes on Saturday against dozens of targets in Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, according to local news reports and two senior U.S. officials, the opening salvo in what American officials said was a new offensive against the militants.

Air and naval strikes ordered by President Trump hit radars, air defenses, and missile and drone systems in an effort to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea that the Houthis have disrupted for months with their own attacks. The Biden administration conducted several similar strikes against the Houthis but largely failed to restore deterrence in the region.

U.S. officials said the bombardment, the most significant military action of Mr. Trump’s second term, was also meant to send a warning signal to Iran: Mr. Trump wants to broker a deal with Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but has left open the possibility of military action if the Iranians rebuff negotiations.

U.S. officials said that airstrikes against the Houthis’ arsenal, much of which is buried deep underground, could last for several days, intensifying in scope and scale depending on the militants’ reaction. U.S. intelligence agencies have struggled in the past to identify and locate the Houthi weapons systems, which the rebels produce in subterranean factories and smuggle in from Iran.

But it is unclear how a renewed bombing campaign against the Houthis would succeed where previous American-led military efforts largely failed.

Since the Hamas-led assault on Israel in October 2023, Houthi rebels have attacked more than 100 merchant vessels and warships in the Red Sea with hundreds of missiles, drones and speedboats loaded with explosives, disrupting global trade through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The Biden administration tried to chip away at the ability of the Houthis to menace merchant ships and military vessels without killing large numbers of Houthi fighters and commanders, which could unleash even more mayhem into a widening regional war that officials feared would drag in Iran.

But the Houthis, who are backed by Iran and act as the de facto government in much of northern Yemen, largely discontinued their attacks when Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire in Gaza in January.

The Houthis have also threatened to resume attacks against Israel if the Netanyahu government halts the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said on social media on Jan. 22 that supporting the Palestinian cause would remain a top priority even after the cease-fire in Gaza. The Houthis have said they would stop targeting all ships “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the cease-fire agreement.

But at the same time, the Houthis warned that if the United States or Britain directly attacked Yemen, they would resume their assaults on vessels associated with those countries. Evidence recently examined by weapons researchers shows that the rebels may have acquired new advanced technology that makes their drones more difficult to detect and helps them fly even farther.