The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen.

I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.

This is going to require some explaining.

U.S. airstrikes over the weekend took out Houthi drone, missile and air defense systems, but it remains to be seen whether they struck a lethal blow at their main target: the Iranian regime’s resolve. 

President Trump warns that he will hold Iran responsible for any further attacks by Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea area. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran is dictating every move of the Houthis, giving them weapons, money and intelligence.

President Donald Trump on Monday said that further attacks or retaliation by the Houthis would be considered an attack by Iran and it would face “dire” consequences.

Yemen's Houthi rebels say there have been fresh US strikes against them, with the number of dead rising to 53, including five children.

Targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah areas were hit early on Monday, according to the rebel group, while the US Central Command said its forces had continued operations.

The US launched what it called a "decisive and powerful" wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

US fighter jets have carried out a series of air raids across Yemen, killing at least 31 people after President Donald Trump warned the Houthi group not to attack ships passing through the Red Sea.

The US raids, the most significant military action since Trump’s return to power in January, came after Yemen’s Houthis threatened to resume raids on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

The Trump administration on Tuesday re-designated the Houthi militant group in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization, reversing a decision made by President Joe Biden in 2021, after more than a year of attacks on U.S. Navy and commercial vessels at sea.

The international shipping industry is demanding action after Islamic terrorists backed by Iran sank another major vessel in the Red Sea in the last several days.

The Houthi’s attack last week on the M/V Tutor — a Liberian flagged, Greek-owned and operated bulk cargo carrier — featured the use of an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and missiles. The ship began to take on water immediately and eventually sank to the Red Sea’s bottom several days later.

ABOARD THE USS LABOON IN THE RED SEA (AP) — The U.S. Navy prepared for decades to potentially fight the Soviet Union, then later Russia and China, on the world’s waterways. But instead of a global power, the Navy finds itself locked in combat with a shadowy, Iran-backed rebel group based in Yemen.

The U.S.-led campaign against the Houthi rebels, overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, has turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced since World War II, its leaders and experts told The Associated Press.