What to know about the Houthi rebels U.S. leaders targeted in their Signal chat
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A man sits on the rubble of a building destroyed by the U.S. aerial attacks on March 20 in Sana'a, Yemen. Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Top government officials used Signal to discuss air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen as the Trump administration stepped up attacks on the rebels.
The big picture: The airstrikes killed more than 50 people according to the AP, and the military campaign against the group is expected to continue.
State of play: The top national security figures' discussion became public after they inadvertently invited The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to join the chat.
- The Trump administration has repeatedly denied that any war plans were shared.
- However, the magazine on Wednesday called the Trump administration's bluff, publishing in full the messages about the planned military action.
Here's a look at the conflict's history over the past two years as it pertains to the U.S.:
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthis are a political and military organization that came to international attention in 2014 when they overthrew Yemen's internationally recognized government.
- The Houthis emerged in the early 1990s from a religious revival movement around Zaydism, a sect of Shia Islam that roughly 35% of Yemen's population follows.
- The group steadily organized and became a formidable opposition faction against Yemen's Saudi-backed, majority Sunni government.
- The movement is strongly opposed to Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East and is ideologically aligned with Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Red Sea conflict
The Houthis began launching ballistic missile and drone attacks against Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea.
- The Red Sea vessel attacks effectively immobilized one of the most important international commercial shipping lanes in the world.
- The Biden administration started mobilizing an international coalition against the Houthis in December 2023.
Catch up quick: The U.S. and the UK conducted air strikes against the Houthis a month later. There have been numerous strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, but that hasn't deterred additional attacks.
- When the Gaza ceasefire agreement was approved on Jan. 17, the Houthis announced they would halt their attacks on Israel and in the Red Sea as long as the ceasefire remained in place.
- The Houthis threatened to resume attacks in the last two weeks after the ceasefire deal expired and Israel suspended humanitarian aide shipments into Gaza.
U.S. re-designates Houthis as terrorist organization
President Trump once again designated the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization upon taking office.
- Biden lifted the designation in 2021 over concerns about the ability of the UN and other humanitarian organizations to deliver aid to civilians in Yemen.
- But the Biden administration started mobilizing an international coalition against the Houthis in December 2023, after the group hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea.
Why is the U.S. targeting Houthis in Yemen?
Trump ordered the Pentagon to start preparing military plans against the Houthis, an Iran-aligned group, after his decision to re-designate them as a terrorist organization, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
- After the Houthis downed a U.S. military drone earlier in March, preparations for the strikes accelerated, a U.S. official told Axios.
Zoom in: Trump wrote on Truth Social that he ordered the U.S. military to launch "decisive and powerful" action against the Houthis because "they have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,"
- Hinting that the strikes are part of a wider military campaign, Trump wrote, "The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective."
The other side: The Houthis condemned the strikes and claimed they were in response to the rebels' support for Gaza.
What's the role of Iran?
Trump said the strikes against the Houthis this month were also a message to Iran to stop supporting the group.
- He said the U.S. will consider any further attacks by the Houthis in Yemen as emanating from Iran and threatened the Iranian government with "dire consequences."
- National security adviser Mike Waltz echoed the sentiment and said after the strikes that the U.S. could hit Iranian targets in Yemen.
- "We will hold not only Houthis accountable but also their Iranian backers," he said on ABC's "This Week."
- Waltz said the targets that "will be on the table" include Iranian ships near the Yemeni coast that help the Houthis gather intelligence, Iranian military trainers, and "other things they have put in to help the Houthis attack the global economy."
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