A US air campaign launched March 15 to stamp out the Iran-backed Houthis' attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has gone a long way toward meeting its objectives, US and Yemeni officials said.

On April 17, US forces struck the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Ras Issa to cut off supplies and funds for group, US Central Command said.

"US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years," it said.

"The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen. This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully."

Even before this, strikes targeting the Houthis' military sites and weapons depots had deprived the group of 30% of its military capabilities, Yemen's Minister of Information Muammar al-Eryani said in an April 9 Al-Yaman TV broadcast.

More than 365 strikes have pounded the group's strongholds in Saada, Sanaa, Amran and al-Hodeidah provinces in recent weeks, he said, destroying infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones.

"This militia has turned the homeland into an open arena for regional conflicts, in service of Iran’s expansionist project," al-Eryani said on X.

"It has sought by all means to tear apart the national fabric, ignite strife, disrupt state institutions, destroy the economy and throw young people into wars that serve only its narrow interests."

Targeting military infrastructure

"Houthi terrorists have launched missiles and one-way attack drones at US warships over 170 times and at commercial vessels 145 times since 2003," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said March 17.

Parnell said the United States will continue to use "overwhelming, lethal force" against Houthi targets until "the moment that the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk."

US strikes have targeted Houthi training sites, drone infrastructure, weapons manufacturing capabilities and weapons storage facilities, US Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said March 17.

They also targeted "command-and-control centers, including a terrorist compound where we know several senior Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle experts were located," he said.

The Houthis claim to have fired on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, but Grynkewich said "it's hard to tell because while we're executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles."