U.S. officials vowed to continue hitting Huthi targets in Yemen after launching air strikes aimed at curbing the group’s attacks on maritime shipping and naval vessels in the Gulf region.
Speaking on CBS News on March 16, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signaled that there were no imminent plans to send US troops to directly engage the Huthis, which Washington has designated a terrorist group.
"I don't think there's a necessity for it right now,” he said.
"This was [also] a message to Iran — don't keep supporting [the Huthis] because you will also be responsible for what they are doing in attacking Navy ships and attacking global shipping," he said.
The March 15 overnight attack – which included fighter jets launched from a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea and missile barrages— killed at least 12 civilians, Huthi authorities said, though the toll could not be independently confirmed.
"Huthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X:
The barrage followed warnings from President Donald Trump that "hell will rain down upon" the Huthis if they continue firing missiles on ships in the Gulf region, and at Israel.
"They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones," he wrote.
The strikes in Yemen appeared to be the largest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office on January 20. Media outlets quoted US officials as saying the strike “is not a one-day event -- this is the first of many days if not weeks of strikes."
Huthi rebels have launched dozens of attacks on shipping over the past 18 months, claiming they are intended to support Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza.
Many shipping firms have been forced to change their courses to longer and more expensive routes to avoid the Gulf region.
Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, denied Tehran's involvement in Huthi operations.
"Iran will never start a war... but if anyone threatens us," he was quoted as telling state media. Iran "will give appropriate, decisive and final responses."
"I warn all enemies that we will respond to any threat, if it takes on a practical aspect, with a stubborn, decisive, and destructive response," he said.
The US president has ratcheted up pressure on Tehran since taking office in January, seeking to bring it back to negotiations aimed at curtailing its nuclear ambitions.
The White House last week sent Tehran a new proposal regarding its nuclear program but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has so far rejected the proposal.