As the United States and the United Kingdom launched a wave of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen this weekend, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday to expect additional strikes against Iran-backed targets.
Sullivan told Meet the Press that the U.S. intends “to take additional strikes” on Iran-backed targets. The U.S. and the U.K. launched a third wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen on Feb. 3.
When asked whether the U.S. has ruled out strikes in Iranian territory, Sullivan told Meet the Press on Sunday, “I’m not going to get into what we’ve ruled in and ruled out.”
At least 13 locations associated with the Houthis were targets of the latest strikes, with a focus on disabling their “missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars,” according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels,” Austin added in a Saturday evening statement.
The latest round of strikes comes as the Houthis have conducted dozens of attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November.
The Houthis, who control large portions of Yemen, began their spate of attacks last year in the weeks after Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7. The Hamas attack killed more than 1,200 people and as a retaliation against Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which Hamas officials claim has resulted in more than 26,000 deaths, Israel Defense Forces say it has killed nearly 9,000 Hamas fighters, and that it has tried to limit civilian deaths.
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There have been 167 attacks by Iranian-backed groups on U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since Oct. 17 of last year, according to CBS News.
Saturday’s strikes in Yemen were supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, according to the Pentagon.
