Official Silence as Damascus Returns to Normal After Night of Air Clashes

Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
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Official Silence as Damascus Returns to Normal After Night of Air Clashes

Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)

Syrians had a tough night with explosions rocking the skies, especially in Damascus and the south, as Iran attacked Israel. Syrians waited for an official statement about the blasts, which locals said were caused by “air defenses intercepting enemy missiles.”

A UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that the explosions weren’t just from intercepting unknown projectiles, possibly Israeli.

“Some rockets came from southwest of Damascus towards Hezbollah areas, not just from Lebanon,” said Rami Abdulrahman, the Observatory’s director.

“They weren’t acknowledged publicly to avoid embarrassment for Damascus,” added Abdulrahman, clarifying that Israel didn't attack inside Syria but engaged in air defense to counter the Iranian threat on Israel.

Late Saturday into Sunday, powerful explosions rocked Damascus and its outskirts, especially around the Sayyida Zainab area and Damascus International Airport.

Similar blasts were heard in Daraa, Suwayda, Quneitra (south), western rural Homs, and Jableh on the Syrian coast.

Unofficial Syrian media reported “aerial clashes in Syrian skies between Syrian air defenses and Israeli missiles.”

Pro-government daily “Al-Watan” aired videos titled: “Syrian air defenses stand firm against Israeli missiles.”

On the flip side, media reports suggest that the sounds heard in Syrian skies were caused by Israel intercepting Iranian drones.

The “Voice of the Capital” website clarified that there was “no Israeli attack on military sites in Damascus and its outskirts,” attributing the explosions to “Israeli defenses intercepting Iranian drones and missiles before they reached the Golan Heights.”

As of now, there’s been no official statement about the Iranian attack on Israel and the events in Syrian airspace. Syrian coverage mainly relied on Iranian media reports.

Sunday evening saw Syria’s Foreign Ministry releasing a statement expressing support for Iran.

The ministry affirmed Iran’s right to self-defense and condemned Israeli aggression on Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Life in Damascus appeared normal on Sunday morning after a night filled with the circulation of numerous images and videos purportedly showing Syrian air defenses intercepting Israeli missiles in the Syrian sky.

According to the “Voice of the Capital” website, air traffic resumed at Damascus International Airport after a brief halt due to the Iranian attack on Israel.



Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly linked the actions of Yemen's Houthi militias to their main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran would “suffer the consequences” for further attacks by the militants.

The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his administration's new campaign of airstrikes targeting the militias, which killed at least 53 people this weekend alone and appear poised to continue. Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Houthi supporters themselves rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there.

“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (regarding Gaza), so do whatever you (Americans) want, for we are men who fear no one but God," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the demonstration in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa.

Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned any attack by the militias would be met with “great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.”

“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump alleged in his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.'”

It's unclear what sparked Trump's post. However, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate the Houthis' actions from those of Tehran this weekend. The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it continues flight operations in the region.

Iran did not immediately comment on the post.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump added.

The Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza.

The Houthis claimed there had been additional US airstrikes overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge them.

World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis

In Saada province, the Houthis' stronghold, the militias raided a warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen's legitimate government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from the facility without the WFP's permission in the aftermath of the US airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the Houthis' actions to The Associated Press.

“WFP regrets the de facto authorities' decision to seize some of the commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”

Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been on the precipice of famine for years. But the UN in February suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following the detentions by the Houthis of dozens of UN workers and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced one of its staffers died while imprisoned by the Houthis.