The legitimate Yemeni government accused on Sunday the Iran-backed Houthi militias of dragging the people into a “reckless” war that the militants cannot wage.
In the first official remarks by the government since US President Donald Trump launched airstrikes to deter the Houthis from attacking military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, deputy Foreign Minister Mustafa Numan said the militias believed their own delusions that they could confront the entire world.
“Instead, they have brought catastrophe to our country and innocent people,” he lamented to Asharq Al-Awsat.
He recalled the concessions his government had made to end the war and move forward towards peace. The Houthis, however, dismissed all of these efforts, “stalled and rejected Saudi attempts to end the war.”
“The Houthis have crossed all red lines and brazenly defied the international community by promoting attractive slogans that are in effect useless,” Numan said.
The United States and Houthis both vowed escalation after the US launched its airstrikes.
The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the overnight US strikes killed at least 53 people, including five women and two children, and wounded almost 100 in the capital of Sanaa and other provinces, including the northern province of Saada, the Houthi stronghold.
Trump on Saturday vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks, and warned that Tehran would be held “fully accountable” for their actions.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea, sinking two vessels, in what they call acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally.
The attacks stopped when a Israel-Hamas ceasefire took hold in January — a day before Trump took office — but last week the Houthis said they would renew attacks against Israeli vessels after Israel cut off the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza this month.
There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.
The Houthis on Sunday claimed to have targeted the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group with missiles and a drone.
Political researcher and academic Fares al-Beel said the strikes mark a shift in American strategy towards armed groups, specifically those allied with Iran.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US administration may take even firmer measures against the Houthis.
“The strikes are the beginning of indirect targeting of Iran and attempts to strip the Iranian regime of its remaining proxies in the region,” he added.
Observers have questioned, however, the effectiveness of the strikes if they are not coupled with any ground operation.
Yemeni political analyst Mohammed al-Saer said the American strikes are unlikely to stop the Houthi attacks, saying the Biden administration and Britain had both carried out similar attacks, but the militias remained undeterred in targeting Red Sea shipping.
He warned that the strikes and the recent sanctions imposed by Washington on Hodeidah port and banks held by the Houthis will only re-ignite the conflict in Yemen. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis are still holding their positions in Marib and the west coast.
The Houthis will not back down, he added, especially since the legitimate forces remain ununited.
