In the late hours of Saturday night, US led forces began a large-scale attack on Houthi forces, including senior leadership, in retaliation for the latest Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. President Trump sent out a warning to the Houthis on Truth Social that their attacks on shipping must end, and furthermore, Iran’s support of these attacks must end or face dire consequences.

Reports indicate the attacks were carried out using aircraft from the USS Harry S Truman, along with US Air Force aircraft, drones and cruise missiles. The swift attacks initially targeted homes of senior Ansarallah terrorist leaders. It is believed that at least one of the senior Houthi leaders, Sharaf al-Din, was killed and contact has been lost with others.

President Trump’s approach to dealing with the Houthis by conducting massive strikes across the country, and apparent plans to continue for a number of days, is in stark contrast to the previous Biden Administration that allowed the Houthis to effectively cut off the Red Sea – Suez Canal shipping lanes for more than a year. While there were a few strikes under then President Biden, they were limited in scope and did nothing to deter the Houthis from attacking shipping lanes, along with Israeli civilian targets with ballistic and cruise missiles.

By targeting Houthi leaders, President Trump has sent a clear message that their attacks will be met with overwhelming force. The message will be heard loud and clear in Tehran, despite their bluster to the contrary. The Israeli attacks in 2024 showed the world and the Iranian leadership that their air defenses were incapable of defending Iran against any sustained attack. While Israel only has a few stealthy F-35s, the United States could bring to bear a host of virtually undetectable fighter and bomber aircraft to take out remaining Iranian air defenses to effectively wipe out the Iranian nuclear program.

In the meantime, US attacks on Yemen continue. It remains to be seen whether the attacks on leadership were entirely successful, but there can be no doubt that President Trump will do his utmost to protect American economic and security interests. Though the president ran on ending war in the Middle East and Ukraine, he has reset expectations around the world that when American interests are threatened, he will not hesitate to use military force to defend those interests. The American public elected President Trump to stop wasting tax dollars on wars that direct US interests are not at risk, while ensuring US interests are first and foremost on his agenda. There is no doubt that US interests are tied to these ongoing airstrikes.