Pompeo Affirms Support for Arab Coalition in Yemen, Says Iran Behind Continuation of War

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
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Pompeo Affirms Support for Arab Coalition in Yemen, Says Iran Behind Continuation of War

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underlined on Monday US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, blaming Iran for the civil war.

“The support we’re providing to the Saudis as they attempt to engage these dangerous missiles systems is in America’s best interest,” said Pompeo, according to The Hill newspaper.

He blamed Iran, saying the war is “Iranian led” and that Tehran has “chosen to direct” the Houthis not to withdraw from the port of Hodeidah as agreed to last year.

“The Houthis, who continue to refuse to comply with the agreements they have signed up for in Stockholm, Sweden, refused to move back from the port in Hodeidah,” he stressed.

He said weapons used by Houthis are smuggled into Yemen from Iran in addition to the missiles launched at Saudi territory and that affect civil aviation.

“The United States has an obligation to protect our citizens, so the support that we’re providing to the Saudis as they attempt to engage these dangerous missile systems is in America’s best interest,” he told the newspaper.

He said the US military support also aims at countering al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ensuring protection of the US from the terror risk inside Yemen, pointing to the reasons why US President Donald Trump vetoed a Congress resolution to end support for Yemen.

When asked whether ISIS still poses a threat, Pompeo said it undoubtedly still does.

“We have made significant progress. I give our coalition partners – we built a coalition of over 80 countries, called the Defeat ISIS Coalition, an enormous global coalition to take down that caliphate. That coalition remains,” he responded.

On whether the US was seeking regime change in Iran, Pompeo said the US administration wants it “to make a set of decisions that are very different from the ones they’re making today.”

He highlighted the 12 demands by the US administration back in May 2018, stressing that they are all reasonable and simply call on Iran to behave like a normal country.

“They’re simple things like don’t kill people in Europe, don’t conduct assassinate – it’s not outrageous.”

He also wondered “whether it is outrageous to ask Iran not to support militias in Iraq to try and destabilize the Iraqi government so the Iraqi people have an independent, sovereign nation of their own.”



Suspected US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill at Least 4 People Near Hodeidah

A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Suspected US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill at Least 4 People Near Hodeidah

A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Suspected US airstrikes battered Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the militias saying that one strike killed at least four people near the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump, targeting the militias over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.

The campaign appears to show no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked their airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.

“Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said. “They’ve taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored.”

Overnight, a likely US airstrike targeted what the Houthis described as a “water project” in Hodeidah governorate's Mansuriyah District, killing four people and wounding others. Other strikes into Wednesday targeted Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa governorates, the militias said.