Pentagon chief says US to continue targeting Houthis until attacks stop

The US will maintain its operation against the Houthi group until they cease attacks on ships and restore freedom of navigation.

"Well, it all went down because an era of peace through strength is back," said a Pentagon representative.

The US Secretary of Defense emphasized that freedom of navigation is a fundamental national interest of the United States.

"I want to be very clear: this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence. The minute the Houthis say, ‘We’ll stop shooting at your ships; we’ll stop shooting at your drones,’ this campaign will end, but until then, it will be unrelenting," the Secretary of Defense stressed.

The official also noted that the US had received reports about the first strikes: "The Houthi capital felt like an earthquake. Dozens and dozens of precision heavy munitions dropped precisely on the targets that we wanted to hit, sending a very clear message."

Hegseth added that this message was also directed at Iran. The US is demanding that Iran stop supporting the Houthis.

"We will hold you accountable as the sponsor of this proxy, and I echo his (President Donald Trump -ed.) statement. We will not be nice about it. This is not the Biden administration. The message is clear: we will come after the Houthis until they stop shooting at our ships, and the Iranians better stay out of it," the Pentagon chief concluded.

Earlier today, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that the Trump administration does not rule out any options for influencing Iran.

According to him, their goal is to stop the support for militant groups in the Middle East and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Notably, the US launched large-scale strikes against the Houthis in Yemen after the group's attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Iran responded to Washington's actions.