WASHINGTON: The United States and Britain launched strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, in the second day of major US operations against Iran-linked groups following a deadly attack on American troops last weekend.
The strikes hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations across the country.
It was the latest sign of spreading conflict in the Middle East since war erupted between Israel and Hamas after the militant Palestinian group’s deadly assault on Israel on Oct.7.
“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,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
The Yemen strikes are running parallel to an unfolding US campaign of military retaliation over the killing of three American soldiers in a drone strike by Iran-backed militants on an outpost in Jordan.
On Friday, the US carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40 people.
While Washington accuses Iran-backed militias of attacking US troops at bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Yemen’s Iran-linked Houthis have been regularly targeting commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza. But the US and its allies characterize them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.
Faced with mounting Red Sea violence, major shipping lines have largely abandoned the critical trade route for longer routes around Africa. This has increased costs, feeding worries about global inflation while sapping Egypt of crucial foreign revenue from shippers sailing the Suez Canal to or from the Red Sea.
Biden’s emerging strategy on Yemen aims to weaken the Houthi militants but stops well short of trying to defeat the group or directly attack Iran, the Houthis’ main sponsor, experts say.
The strategy blends limited military strikes and sanctions, and appears aimed at punishing the Houthis while attempting to limit the risk of a broad Middle East conflict.
The US has carried out more than a dozen strikes against Houthi targets in the past several weeks, but these have failed to stop attacks by the group.
Sarea, the Houthi military spokesperson, suggested in a statement on social media that the group’s intervention in the Red Sea would continue.
“These attacks will not deter us from our ethical, religious and humanitarian stance in support of the resilient Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” Sarea said.
Just hours before the latest major wave of strikes from the sea and air, the US military’s Central Command issued statements detailing other, more limited strikes in the past day that included hitting six cruise missiles the Houthis were preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea.
Around 4 a.m. in Yemen (0100 GMT), the US military also struck a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile that was poised to launch.
“This is not an escalation,” said British Defense Minister Grant Shapps. “We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further degraded the Houthis’ capabilities.”
The United States said Sunday’s strikes had support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand. US Central Command said that beyond missile capabilities, the strikes targeted drone storage and operations sites, radars and helicopters.
Despite the strikes against Iran-linked groups, the Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either. US Republicans have been ratcheting up pressure on President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to deal a blow to Iran directly.
It was unclear how Tehran would respond to the strikes, which do not directly target Iran but degrade groups it backs.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement the attacks in Iraq and Syria represented “another adventurous and strategic mistake by the United States that will result only in increased tension and instability.”
Iraq summoned the US charge d’affaires in Baghdad to deliver a formal protest after strikes in that country.
US, Britain wage strikes against Iran-linked Houthis in Yemen
https://arab.news/2yccv
US, Britain wage strikes against Iran-linked Houthis in Yemen
- The United States on Friday carried out strikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40 people
- The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza
2025: The most successful year in Syrian history since 1970
- First year without Bashar Assad brought sweeping diplomatic gains and sanctions relief
- War-torn nation re-entered global forums, saw sanctions lifted even as scars persisted
LONDON: One year after the fall of Bashar Assad, Syrians are holding fast to hope as 2025 emerges as the country’s most diplomatically successful year in about five decades, marked by renewed international engagement and regional reintegration, even as the legacy of repression and war remains deeply etched into daily life.
The scale of that change is best understood against the longevity of the rule that preceded it. Modern Syria was shaped by more than five decades of Assad family dominance, beginning when Hafez Assad, then defense minister, seized power in a military coup on Nov. 16, 1970.
He formally became president in March 1971, inaugurating an era of centralized authority and political repression that would persist through his son’s presidency.
Over the following decades, Syria drifted deeper into rigid Cold War alignments, recurrent confrontations with its neighbors and, eventually, entrenched international isolation. That trajectory hardened under both Hafez and Bashar Assad, leaving little room for political reform and laying the groundwork for the uprising that erupted in 2011.
But today, post-Assad optimism was on display earlier this month, when thousands gathered in cities including Damascus, Homs, and Aleppo to mark the anniversary of Assad’s downfall.
In Damascus’s Umayyad Square, crowds danced to an Arabic song repeating the chorus, “Raise your head up high, you’re a free Syrian,” reflecting aspirations shaped by nearly 14 years of civil war.
Behind the public celebrations, analysts say Assad’s removal opened a rare historical window.
“Syria has opened a new chapter that many once thought impossible,” Nanar Hawach, a senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News. “Diplomatic ties are rebuilding, investment is returning, and the country is beginning to shake off years of isolation.”
Even so, he added, the country’s future hinges on developments at home. “To maintain this momentum, the government needs to focus internally: prioritizing day-to-day security and building trust with all communities.
“External support remains vital, but lasting peace will depend on Syrians feeling safe, included, and represented in the new order they are working to build.”
That view is shared by Comfort Ero, the ICG’s president and CEO. “Syria has made incredible strides forward on the international stage in the past year — forging partnerships, attracting funding and securing the easing of some of its most crippling sanctions,” she told Arab News. “But its future now depends on what happens at home.”
Indeed, the past year brought a wave of diplomatic normalization. Syria restored regional and international ties, saw US and European sanctions lifted or suspended, and rejoined major global forums.
The war-weary country reappeared at high-profile gatherings including the Arab League Summit in Baghdad, the Russian-Arab Summit, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the Doha Forum.
That momentum culminated in November with interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House, the first such visit by a Syrian leader since independence from France in 1946.
During the trip, Syria formally joined the US-led Global Coalition Against Daesh, days after the US Treasury removed Al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda supporter who once had a $10 million bounty for his capture, from its Specially Designated Global Terrorist sanctions list.
Similarly, the UN Security Council adopted on Nov. 6 a US-backed resolution delisting Al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab, a move widely seen as a powerful signal of international recognition of Syria’s political transition.
These diplomatic gains followed the dramatic moment on Dec. 8, 2024, when Assad fled to Moscow as a coalition of rebel groups, led by Al-Sharaa, then-commander of the armed group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, seized Damascus in a lightning offensive.
Within two months, the new military command named Al-Sharaa transitional president, repealed the 2012 constitution, and dissolved the regime’s parliament, army, and security agencies.
In March, he signed a draft constitutional declaration establishing a five-year transitional period and announced a transitional cabinet.
Economic relief soon followed. The EU suspended major sanctions; the UK lifted asset freezes and most sanctions; and the US ended its comprehensive sanctions program and twice suspended the Caesar Act before permanently repealing it on Dec. 17 — a move many believe will facilitate foreign investment and speed reconstruction.
The Caesar Act had long blocked Syrian banks from accessing the global financial system, restricting external transfers and limiting correspondent banking relationships. Its repeal marked the culmination of a sustained diplomatic push led by Riyadh.
In May, during a high-level visit to Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump announced from Riyadh the lifting of sanctions on Syria and met the following day with Al-Sharaa. Around the same time, Saudi Arabia and Qatar paid off Syria’s $15.5 million World Bank debt.
Investment activity soon accelerated. In July and August, Syria had signed 47 investment agreements worth more than $6.4 billion with Saudi companies and secured $14 billion in deals with companies from Qatar, the UAE, Italy, and Turkiye, targeting transport, infrastructure, and real estate.
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Diplomatic engagement continued into the fall. In September, Al-Sharaa addressed the UN General Assembly — the first Syrian head of state to do so since 1967. He pledged accountability and national rebuilding.
While in New York, he held meetings across diplomatic and policy circles, including a highly symbolic discussion with former CIA director David Petraeus.
Assad’s fall and early signs of recovery have also encouraged many displaced people to return to their original towns and villages.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 1.2 million Syrians have voluntarily returned from neighboring countries since December 2024, alongside nearly 1.9 million internally displaced people who have gone back to their home areas.
At the same time, Syrians with the means to do so are reopening small businesses and rebuilding homes, even without reliable public services and amid widespread destruction.
Marking the anniversary of Assad’s fall on Dec. 7, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to “stand firmly behind this Syrian-led, Syrian-owned transition,” stressing the need for sustained humanitarian support, fewer barriers to reconstruction, and backing for economic recovery.
“On this anniversary,” he said, “we stand united in purpose — to build a foundation of peace and prosperity and renew our pledge to a free, sovereign, united, and inclusive Syria.”
