{"id":72938,"date":"2025-05-04T04:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T04:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/72938\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T04:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T04:30:08","slug":"yemens-houthis-grow-bolder-despite-us-bombing-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/72938\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemen’s Houthis Grow Bolder Despite US Bombing Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since March 15, the United States has intensified<\/strong><\/a> its aerial campaign against Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, claiming to have hit more than 1,000 targets.<\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cOperation Rough Rider,\u201d the campaign is intended to halt Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and ratchet up pressure on Tehran amid ongoing nuclear negotiations.<\/p>\n

But despite the scale of the strikes, analysts question whether the effort has made any lasting impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Houthis remain undeterred,\u201d said Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at the New York-based Soufan Group, an intelligence and security consultancy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He noted that, while some Houthi infrastructure has been destroyed and personnel killed, the group appears to have turned the campaign to its advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny losses are likely short-term and temporary,\u201d he told RFE\/RL, citing a boost in Houthi recruitment and fundraising.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Binnie, a Middle East defense analyst with the global intelligence company Janes, added that the Houthis\u2019 continued ability to launch attacks — particularly against Israel and US drones — undermines US claims of degrading their capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is arguably getting increasingly embarrassing for the United States every time the Houthis launch an attack on Israel or shoot down an MQ-9,\u201d Binnie said.<\/p>\n

A recent admission<\/strong><\/a> by the US Navy that an F\/A-18 fighter fell off the USS Harry S. Truman during a maneuver to avoid a Houthi strike has only reinforced perceptions that the group remains a potent threat.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the group has continued<\/strong><\/a> launching missiles toward Israel, claiming responsibility on May 2 for two strikes that prompted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to intercept both and activate<\/strong><\/a> nationwide sirens.<\/p>\n

US Central Command insists<\/strong><\/a> that the campaign has degraded the pace and effectiveness of the group’s attacks.<\/p>\n

“Ballistic missile launches have dropped by 69 percent. Additionally, attacks from one way attack drones have decreased by 55%,” CENTCOM said in a statement on April 27. “Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis. The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.”<\/p>\n

Have The Attacks Impacted Relations With Iran?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Analysts warn that the strikes may be having the opposite effect on regional dynamics, driving the Houthis closer to Tehran rather than isolating them.<\/p>\n

The group — formally known as the Ansarallah movement and designated a terrorist organization by the United States — is a key member of Iran\u2019s so-called \u201caxis of resistance,\u201d a network of nonstate actors that has faced setbacks over the past year.<\/p>\n

But since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Houthis have elevated their role within that alliance, claiming attacks on Israel and Israeli-linked shipping in solidarity with Palestinians.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters,<\/p>\n

Protesters, predominantly supporters of the Houthis, rally to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians, vowing that US airstrikes would not deter their support, in Sanaa, Yemen, April 25<\/p>\n

While their growing prominence has afforded them some autonomy, experts say they remain deeply reliant on Iran for weapons and strategic support.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know very well what the US military is capable of — and you were warned,\u201d US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X on May 1, addressing Iran directly. \u201cYou will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Clarke argues that the strikes may have only deepened the Houthi-Iran alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, the strikes have pushed the Houthis closer to Iran,\u201d he said, casting doubt on whether a future nuclear agreement would change Tehran\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n

Binnie echoed Clarke\u2019s skepticism. \u201cUS officials might hope the campaign pressures Iran,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s difficult to say if that is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States was initially slated for May 3 in Rome but has been postponed<\/strong><\/a> due to what Omani mediators described as \u201clogistical reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

With weeks of sustained bombing behind it, the United States appears no closer to deterring Houthi attacks or weakening their political backing — raising hard questions about the strategic value of the campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since March 15, the United States has intensified its aerial campaign against Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, claiming to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[13218,36200,126,774,839,6324,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-72938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-impactstories","9":"tag-beyond-our-borders","10":"tag-features","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-middle-east","13":"tag-the-rundown-stories","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114447687726218203","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}