US Central Command (Centcom) claimed that the United States launched new strikes against Houthi missiles in Yemen on Sunday.
Centcom reported that US forces struck a land-attack cruise missile and four anti-ship missiles that “were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.”
The Houthi attacks have forced major shipping companies to avoid the waterway, adversely affecting international trade. For instance, Egypt stated that its revenues from the Suez Canal nearly halved in January, with the number of ships passing through the canal falling by more than a third.
The White House earlier warned that its airstrikes against Iranian-backed targets in Iraq and Syria were only “the beginning, not the end” of its response to Iran. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated on Sunday that “there will be more steps.”
US President Joe Biden claimed the strikes were aimed at deterring Iranian-backed groups from further attacks and were carried out in a way “to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties.” He also indicated that he would “direct additional measures, including against the IRGC and IRGC-affiliated personnel and facilities, as appropriate.”
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi also spoke on Sunday to express his “grave concerns over the continuous escalation in the region.” He noted that retaliatory US attacks “compromise the region’s safety, stability, and efforts to tackle challenges like violence and extremism.”
However, Sullivan argued on Sunday that the strikes “had good effect in degrading militia capabilities,” adding that the US was not going to wage an indefinite military campaign in the Middle East but “is prepared to deal with anything that any group comes” at them with.
There has been one attack on US troops since strikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday, a US Defence Department spokesman reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently travelling to the region as part of a trip through Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the West Bank. Sullivan stated that a hostage agreement with Hamas, which should lead to a suspension of hostilities in Gaza, would be the Secretary of State’s “top priority.”
