Here's what to know about the U.S. strikes and what could happen next:
Why did the U.S. launch the new airstrikes?
The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year. Their leadership described the attacks as aiming to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis' profile in the wider Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.
Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social, said his administration targeted the Houthis over their “unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism.” He noted the disruption Houthi attacks have caused through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, key waterways for energy and cargo shipments between Asia and Europe through Egypt's Suez Canal.
“We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump said.
Didn't the U.S. already target the Houthis with airstrikes?
U.S. military officials during that period acknowledged having a far-wider target list for possible strikes. While the Biden administration didn't go too far into explaining its targeting, analysts believe officials largely were trying to avoid civilian casualties and not rekindle Yemen's stalemated war, which pits the Houthis and their allies against the country's exiled government and their local and international allies, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Trump administration, however, appears willing to go after more targets, based on the weekend's strikes and public remarks made by officials.
“We’re doing the entire world a favor by getting rid of these guys and their ability to strike global shipping,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS News' “Face The Nation” on Sunday. “That’s the mission here, and it will continue until that’s carried out.”
Rubio added: “Some of the key people involved in those missile launches are no longer with us, and I can tell you that some of the facilities that they used are no longer existing, and that will continue.”
What could the new U.S. strikes mean for the wider Mideast?
In two words: More attacks.
However, the new U.S. campaign likely could inspire Houthi attacks at sea or on land beyond American warships. The rebels previously targeted oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two countries deeply involved in Yemen's war since 2015.
“Although the U.S. has been striking at Houthi targets for over a year, the scope and scale of this new campaign, including the targeting of senior Houthi figures, marks a significant escalation in the conflict,” analysts at the Eurasia Group said Monday.
Gulf Arab countries "will distance themselves from ongoing hostilities but now face threats to their major oil infrastructure. The Houthis will want to hit President Donald Trump where it hurts, oil prices.”
Meanwhile, the Houthis likely will expand their possible targets for ship attacks, meaning shippers will continue to stay out of the region, said Jakob P. Larsen, the head of maritime security for BIMCO, the largest international association representing shipowners.
Where are the Iranians in all of this?
While Iranian state television aired footage of civilian casualties from the weekend strikes in Yemen, top political leaders stayed away from suggestion Tehran itself would get involved in the fight. Revolutionary Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami notably underscored the Houthis made their own decisions — while not offering any warning over what would happen if the strikes killed any members of the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force, who are believed to actively support the rebels on the ground.
“We have always declared — and we declare again today — that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land, with an independent national policy,” Salami said.
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz, speaking to ABC's “This Week” on Sunday, warned Guard officials training the Houthis “will be on the table too” as possible targets for attack.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately traveled Sunday to Oman, which long has been an interlocutor between Tehran and the West. The Houthis also operate a political office in the sultanate.
The attacks on the Houthis are “a not-so-subtle signal to Iran, as President Trump has been unequivocal in his insistence that Iran return to the negotiating table to deal with its nuclear program,” the New York-based Soufan Center said in an analysis Monday.
