US carries out fresh strikes against Houthi missiles in Yemen

US forces on Sunday carried out a fresh series of strikes against five missiles in Yemen, a day after the United States and UK along with allies launched a slew of air raids against Houthi militants.

Making the announcement, the US military said the strikes were conducted in self defence against a Houthi land-attack cruise missile. The Central Command (CENTCOM) said as part of the assault, US forces struck down four anti-ship missiles, all of which were ready to target ships in the Red Sea.

“On Feb. 4, at approximately 5:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces conducted a strike in self-defense against a Houthi a land attack cruise missile. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. U.S. forces struck four anti-ship cruise missiles, all of which were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea. U.S. forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” said the post by CENTCOM on X.

US warning to Iran

The US has also warned Iran and the militias it arms and funds that it will conduct more attacks if American forces in the Mideast continue to be targeted, but that it does not want an “open-ended military campaign” across the region.

“We are prepared to deal with anything that any group or any country tries to come at us with,” said Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser. Sullivan said Iran should expect “a swift and forceful response” if it — and not one of its proxies — “chose to respond directly” against the US.

Sullivan delivered the warnings during a series of interviews with TV news shows after the US and Britain on Saturday struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Iran-backed militants have fired on American and international interests repeatedly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last weekend. The US fired again at Houthi targets on Sunday.

“We cannot rule out that there will be future attacks from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria or from the Houthis,” Sullivan said. He said the president has told his commanders that “they need to be positioned to respond to further attacks as well.” The US has blamed the attack at the Tower 22 base in Jordan on January 28 on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias. Iran has tried to distance itself from the drone strike, saying the militias act independently of its direction.

Biden “is not looking for a wider war,” Sullivan said, when questioned about the potential for strikes inside Iran that would expand the conflict in the volatile region. But when asked about the possibility of direct escalation by the Iranians, he said: “If they chose to respond directly to the United States, they would be met with a swift and forceful response from us.”

The Biden administration has so far appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Quds Force within its borders.

Houthi attacks in Red Sea

Some of the militias have been a threat to US bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas following the October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. More than 27,000 people have been killed by Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the territory's Health Ministry has said.

The Houthis have conducted almost daily missile or drone attacks against commercial and military ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and they have made clear that they have no intention of scaling back their campaign despite a new international force to protect vessels in the vital waterway.

(With inputs from agencies)