United States, Britain strike 36 Houthi targets in Yemen after hitting Tehran-backed groups in Iraq, Syria
\nBAGHDAD\/ WASHINGTON\/ ADEN
\nThe United States intends to launch further strikes at Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday, after hitting Tehran-aligned factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the last two days.
\nThe United States and Britain unleashed attacks against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, a day after the US military hit Tehran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops in Jordan.
\n\u201cWe intend to take additional strikes, and additional action, to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, when our people are killed,\u201d White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d program on Sunday.
\nThe strikes are the latest blows in a conflict that has spread into the Middle East since Oct. 7, when the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas stormed Israel from the Gaza Strip, igniting war.
\nThe Biden administration\u2019s diplomatic efforts to stem the fallout from the war also continued with top diplomat Antony Blinken departing for the region on Sunday afternoon.
\nTehran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians have entered the fray across the region: Hezbollah has fired at Israeli targets at the Lebanese-Israeli border, Iraqi militias have fired on US forces in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis have fired on shipping in the Red Sea and at Israel itself.
\nIran has so far avoided any direct role in the conflict, even as it backs those groups. The Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either.
\nSullivan declined to be drawn on whether the United States might attack sites inside Iran, something the US military has been very careful to avoid.
\nSpeaking to CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d program moments earlier, he said Friday\u2019s strikes were \u201cthe beginning, not the end, of our response, and there will be more steps\u2013some seen, some perhaps unseen\u201d.
\n\u201cI would not describe it as some open-ended military campaign,\u201d he said.
\nSaturday\u2019s strikes in Yemen 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.
\nThe Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes \u201cwill not pass without a response and consequences\u201d.
\nAnother Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, indicated the group would not be deterred, saying Yemen\u2019s decision to support Gaza would not be affected by any attack.
\nResidents described being shaken by powerful blasts. \u201cThe building I live in shook,\u201d said Fatimah, a resident of Houthi-controlled Sanaa, adding that it had been years since she had felt such blasts in a country that has suffered years of war. The Houthis did not announce any casualties.
\nSecretary of State Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel in the coming days on his fifth trip to the region since October, which will focus on advancing talks on the return of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
\nHe will also make a push on a US-brokered mega deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize ties, which hinges on bringing an end to other Gaza conflict and steps toward a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United States, Britain strike 36 Houthi targets in Yemen after hitting Tehran-backed groups in Iraq, Syria BAGHDAD\/ WASHINGTON\/ ADEN The United States intends to launch further strikes at Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday, after hitting Tehran-aligned factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-385540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n