WASHINGTON >> The United States began large-scale military strikes on Saturday against dozens of targets in Yemen, including Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and sites controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, President Donald Trump announced.

It was the opening salvo in what senior U.S. officials said was a new offensive against the militants and a strong message to Iran, as Trump seeks a nuclear deal with its government.

Air and naval strikes ordered by Trump hit radars, air defenses, and missile and drone systems in an effort to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea that the Houthis have disrupted for months with their attacks. The Biden administration conducted several similar strikes against the Houthis but largely failed to restore stability to the region.

The Houthis reported explosions in their territory Saturday evening, in Sanaa and in the northern province of Saada, the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia. Images online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.

At least 18 people were killed, including 13 in Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. At least 24 others were wounded, including nine in Sanaa and 15 in Saada, it said.

A U.S. official said this was the beginning of air strikes on Houthi targets that are expected to continue. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

The Houthis reported fresh strikes on the southwestern Dhamar province late Saturday. They said the strikes hit the outskirts of the provincial capital, also named Dhamar, and the district of Abs.

Message to Iran

U.S. officials said the bombardment, the most significant military action of Trump’s second term so far, was also meant to send a warning signal to Iran. Trump wants to broker a deal with Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but has left open the possibility of military action if the Iranians rebuff negotiations.

“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” Trump said in a message on Truth Social. “They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft and drones.”

Trump then pivoted to Iran’s rulers in Tehran, its capital: “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable.”

U.S. officials said airstrikes against the Houthis’ arsenal, much of which is deep underground, could last for several days, intensifying in scope and scale depending on the militants’ reaction. U.S. intelligence agencies have struggled in the past to identify and locate the Houthi weapons systems, which the rebels produce in subterranean factories and smuggle in from Iran.

Some national security aides want to pursue an even more aggressive campaign that could lead the Houthis to essentially lose control of large parts of the country’s north, U.S. officials said. But Trump has not yet authorized that strategy, wary of entangling the United States in a Middle East conflict he pledged to avoid during his campaign.

Regional concerns

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been pushing Trump to authorize a joint U.S.-Israel operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities, taking advantage of a moment when Iran’s air defenses are exposed, after a bombing campaign from Israel in October. Trump, reluctant to be drawn into a major war, has so far held off against pressure from both Israeli and U.S. hawks to seize the opening to strike Iran’s nuclear sites.

Since the Hamas-led assault on Israel in October 2023, Houthi rebels have attacked more than 100 merchant vessels and warships in the Red Sea with hundreds of missiles, drones and speedboats loaded with explosives, disrupting global trade through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran and act as the de facto government in much of northern Yemen, largely discontinued their attacks when Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in January. But Israel instituted a blockade on aid to Gaza this month, and the Houthis have said they will step up attacks in response.

The group’s assaults in recent weeks have angered Trump. They fired a surface-to-air missile at an Air Force F-16 flying over the Red Sea, missing the jet. A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone disappeared over the Red Sea the same day Houthi militants claimed to have shot one down.

“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY.” Trump said in a Truth Social message.

In Washington

U.S. officials said the strikes Saturday resulted from a series of high-level White House meetings this past week between Trump and top national security aides, including Vice President JD Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Michael Waltz, the president’s national security adviser; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; and Gen. Michael Kurilla, head of the military’s Central Command. Trump approved the plan on Friday.

The strikes were carried out by fighter jets from the carrier Harry S. Truman, now in the northern Red Sea, as well as by Air Force attack planes and armed drones launched from bases in the region, U.S. officials said.

Global shipping disrupted

But the U.S.-led strikes have failed to deter them from attacking shipping lanes connecting to the Suez Canal that are crucial for global trade.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when this ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

The Houthis have greeted the prospect of war with the United States with open delight.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the U.S. “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.

This report contains information from the Associated Press.