Houthi leader: We are waging a «holy jihad»

The leader of Yemen's Houthis, Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, has declared that the Iran-backed militant group is waging a “holy jihad” against the United States (US) and Israel and that their military operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will not stop.

In a video speech broadcast on Al-Masirah TV today, Al-Houthi said: “We have used 200 drones and more than 50 ballistic and winged missiles in our operations so far. We will continue to do so until the siege on Gaza is lifted.”

Al-Houthi asserted that their forces had not been impacted by the recent US-UK strikes, saying: "These strikes are worthless, and we are constantly developing our military capabilities. We have been experienced in battles for a long time."

He also warned that the Red Sea would become a “burning war zone” due to, as he described it, "dangerous American actions."

Yesterday, the military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Sarea, announced that a clash had occurred between their armed forces and an unspecified number of American destroyers and warships in the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab.

In a statement on social media platform X, Sarea said the US battleships “were protecting two American commercial ships”, and that one of the results of the operation was “a direct hit on an American vessel - forcing the two American commercial vessels to withdraw and return.”

A statement issued by US Central Command earlier on X seemed to confirm the incident, saying:  “Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated container ship M/V Maersk Detroit, transiting the Gulf of Aden.”

The statement added that one missile had landed in the sea, while two others were intercepted by the USS Gravely, with no reported injuries or damage to the ship.

Today, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it had added four senior Houthi military leaders to its counter-terrorism list of Specially Designated Nationals. 

The list of targets for sanctions now includes the Houthi Minister of Defense, Mohammad al-Atifi, the commander of the Houthi naval forces, Muhammad Fadl Abd, and the commander of the Houthi Coastal Defense Brigade, Muhammad Ali Al-Qadiri, in addition to Muhammad al-Talibi, who is believed to be linked to the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the Houthis.