Chicago – January 12, 2024
U.S. warplanes, ships and submarines along with British fighters attacked sites in Yemen Thursday associated with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been firing dozens of drones and missiles into Red Sea shipping lanes.
The strikes represent a significant escalation of the U.S. involvement in Middle East fighting amid Israel’s war in Gaza. They followed the 27th Houthi attack since late November earlier Thursday. In recent weeks, the Pentagon has also attacked Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria who have targeted U.S. troops there with rocket attacks.
Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” President Joe Biden said late Thursday.
The president said the response of the international community to the Houthi attacks has been “united and resolute.” The governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom issued a statement shortly after the U.S.-led air strikes, pledging solidarity alongside the U.S.
The Biden administration has sought to contain fighting in the Middle East to Gaza, but Iranian-backed groups throughout the region have increased their attacks.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said.
