CENTCOM Launches Large-Scale Precision Strikes on Houthi Targets Across Yemen to Restore Freedom of Navigation
On March 15, 2025, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that U.S. forces had initiated a series of precision strikes that day against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen, the first large-scale U.S. military action against the Houthis since President Donald J. Trump returned to office. The operation, CENTCOM said, was launched to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Trump announced that he had ordered the United States military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. American warfighters, he said, were carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets and to restore navigational freedom. He warned that Houthi attacks on American vessels would not be tolerated and that the United States would use overwhelming lethal force until its objective was achieved, and he told Iran that its support for the Houthis must end immediately and that America would hold it fully accountable.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the same day that Houthi attacks on American ships, aircraft, and troops would not be tolerated, that Iran, their benefactor, was on notice, and that freedom of navigation would be restored. The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that day to inform him of the U.S. military deterrent action in Yemen.
The Houthis had repeatedly attacked commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the fall of 2023, severely disrupting international shipping, and the administration had redesignated the group a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 4. CENTCOM's March 15 statement released no target list or battle-damage details, saying only that a series of operations had been initiated. Results and casualty figures are reported separately as official accounts are published. (Source: U.S. Central Command)
Source: U.S. Central Command
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2025年3月15日，一架隶属「哈里·S·杜鲁门」号航母打击群的美国海军F/A-18「超级大黄蜂」在美国中央司令部责任区上空接受空中加油（美国空军William Rosado上士摄，公共领域，Wikimedia Commons）。 / Image: A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is refueled over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on March 15, 2025 (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. William Rosado, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
