Yemen's Houthis said they launched an attack on a United States aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on Sunday, hours after Washington hit the Iran-backed rebels with deadly strikes.
"In response to this (US) aggression, the armed forces conducted a military operation... targeting the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships," the group said in a statement, adding it had launched 18 missiles and a drone.
According to the military statement, US forces conducted an extensive aerial campaign consisting of "more than 47 airstrikes" across multiple Yemeni governorates in the past hours. The spokesman claimed these strikes targeted areas in Sana'a, Sa'ada, Al-Bayda, Hajjah, Dhamar, Marib, and Al-Jawf, allegedly resulting in "dozens of casualties and injuries" in what he termed as "massacres," though final casualty figures were not provided.
"The operation was carried out using 18 ballistic and cruise missiles along with drone aircraft," the spokesman stated, describing it as a joint effort between Yemen's missile force, drone air force, and naval forces.
In an explicit warning of further escalation, the spokesman declared: "We will not hesitate to target all American warships in both the Red and Arabian Seas in response to aggression against our country."
The statement reaffirmed the group's commitment to maintaining what they call a "naval blockade" against Israeli targets in their declared operational zone "until aid enters Gaza."
The Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday condemned deadly US strikes against Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened a "decisive" response to any attack, after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran to stop backing the group.
Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei "strongly condemned the brutal air strikes by the US" in a statement, denouncing them a "gross violation of the principles of the UN Charter."
Iranian Guards chief Hossein Salami denounced Trump's threats in a televised speech on Sunday, adding that "Iran will not wage war, but if anyone threatens, it will give appropriate, decisive, and conclusive responses."
The commander called the Houthis "the representative of the Yemenis," adding the group made its "strategic and operational decisions" independently.
In January 2020, during Trump's first term, the US killed the commander of the Guards' foreign operations arms, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike in Baghdad.
Days later, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at bases in Iraq housing American and other coalition troops. No US personnel were killed, but Washington said dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries.
Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said that Washington had "no authority" to dictate the Islamic republic's foreign policy.
"The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy," the foreign minister said on X, while urging the United States to stop the "killing of Yemeni people".
Araghchi said the time when Washington could dictate Tehran's foreign policy ended in 1979, when the Islamic revolution ousted the Western-backed shah.
The Houthis, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the "axis of resistance" of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States.
The Yemeni rebels have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians.
The US strikes on the Houthis are the first since Trump's return to the White House in January.
On Saturday, Trump said the United States had launched "decisive and powerful military action" to end the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping, and warned Iran's support for the rebels "must end immediately." A Houthi health official said the strikes had killed 31 people.
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