Houthis claim attack on American warships; US scoffs they missed by ‘over 100 miles’

Yemen’s Houthis on Tuesday claimed their third attack on American warships in 48 hours, despite US strikes on the Iran-backed rebels that have sparked mass protests.

The Houthis said on Telegram they had targeted the USS Harry S. Truman carrier group with missiles and drones, making the attack the “third in the past 48 hours” in the northern Red Sea.

A US defense official said the Houthis “continue to communicate lies and disinformation,” adding the Iran-backed group is “well known for false claims minimizing the results of our attacks while exaggerating the successes of theirs.”

US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich earlier told reporters it was “hard to confirm” the attacks claimed by the Houthis as the rebels were missing their targets “by over 100 miles” (160 kilometers).

Houthi media said fresh US strikes hit Yemen on Monday after tens of thousands demonstrated, many waving assault rifles, daggers, or Qurans, chanting “Death to America, death to Israel!” in the capital Sanaa.

There were also large crowds in Saada, the birthplace of the Houthi movement, and demonstrations in Dhamar, Hodeida, and Amran, footage from the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV station showed.

“Yemen will never back down — we defy the Americans, we defy the Zionists,” said a man shouting slogans to the Sanaa crowd, who chanted back: “We are the men of the Prophet.”

The protests came after Washington launched a fresh campaign of airstrikes on Yemen beginning Saturday, aiming to pressure the Houthis into ending their attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The Houthis have targeted ships traveling the major trade route since the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

The US strikes killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

The rebels’ Al-Masirah channel and Saba press agency reported new US strikes on Monday night in the Hodeida and Al-Salif regions, while the Houthi Ansarollah website said strikes hit Sanaa early Tuesday.

Washington has vowed to keep hitting Yemen until the Houthis stop attacking shipping, with US President Donald Trump warning he will hold Iran accountable for any further attacks carried out by the Tehran-sponsored group.

“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,” Trump posted on social media.

Iran responded by calling his statement “belligerent.”

‘Overwhelming’ force

At the rally in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, giant flags punctuated a sea of demonstrators at Al-Sabeen Square, which has hosted large-scale demonstrations every week throughout the Gaza war.

Just two days earlier, the Houthi-controlled capital was hit by heavy strikes, including in northern districts frequented by the rebels’ leadership.

They were the first US strikes since Trump returned to office in January and came despite a pause in the Houthis’ attacks coinciding with a ceasefire in the Gaza war, which began on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.” The Houthis have not responded to Waltz’s claim.

The Pentagon said on Monday it had struck 30 targets in its ongoing campaign in Yemen and vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” to “restore freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

‘Hell will rain down’

The United Nations urged both sides to “cease all military activity,” while expressing concern over Houthi threats to resume their Red Sea attacks.

Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed any attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when the ceasefire in Gaza began.

However, the group had threatened to resume its campaign over Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

It said it would “move to additional escalatory options” if the “American aggression” continued.

Israel halted aid deliveries to Gaza when the complex, three-phase ceasefire stalled after its first stage. The deal, mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, saw dozens of hostages released during its initial six-week start but then failed to move onto the next stage.

Then ceasefire finally fell apart on Tuesday when Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza, blaming Hamas for refusing any offer to continue the process of releasing hostages in return for a truce.

The Houthi rebels condemned Israel’s resumption of strikes on Gaza, vowing escalation in support of Palestinians.

“We condemn the Zionist enemy’s resumption of aggression against the Gaza Strip,” the Houthis’ supreme political council said in a statement, adding: “The Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battle, and Yemen will continue its support and assistance, and escalate confrontation steps.”

During the war, the Houthis also directly targeted Israel with ballistic missiles and drones, killing one person and causing significant damage in several locations. Those attacks also stopped when the ceasefire began.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the US strikes and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.

Iran also complained to the United Nations Security Council that Trump and other US officials have made “reckless and provocative statements” that leveled “baseless accusations” and threatened the use of force against Tehran.

“Iran strongly and categorically rejects any accusation on the violation of relevant Security Council resolutions on arms embargoes in Yemen or involvement in any destabilizing activities in the region,” Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Iran’s air force said that a US spy drone retreated from near Iranian airspace after encountering Iranian F-14 fighter jets and reconnaissance drones, the country’s Nournews reported Monday.