The US and UK have struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, just hours after the US conducted retaliatory airstrikes on 85 sites in Iraq and Syria due to the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan.
Saturday’s strikes are a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East as the US ramps up its action against Iranian-backed militias and groups.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen, which are backed by Iran, launched a series of attacks on Israel as well as commercial and military ships in the Red Sea – leading to the US and UK launching targeted attacks. On top of this, the US launched airstrikes on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and its affiliates as retaliation for the three American soldiers’ deaths.
The US attacks on Iran-backed militias this weekend came as the Israel-Gaza war rages on. The Iraqi government warned on Saturday that the escalating tensions were pushing the region “to the brink of the abyss.”
US approves plans to directly target Iranian forces in response to attack that killed three soldiers