US keeps pressure on Iran-backed forces with strikes in Yemen

The United States on Friday intensified its campaign against Iran-aligned groups, conducting extensive airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and pressuring Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Suspected US airstrikes hit Yemen overnight into Saturday, reportedly killing at least one person, as the American military confirmed an earlier strike on a major military site in central Sanaa controlled by Houthi rebels, the Associated Press reported.

According to Houthi-affiliated media, American warplanes carried out 14 airstrikes each on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern city of Saada, as well as several strikes in al-Jawf province.

While full casualty figures remain unclear, the group’s said one person was killed and four injured in Saada, describing the fatality as a civilian. However, such figures may downplay military losses, given the Houthis’ pattern of operating in civilian attire.

The escalation follows Houthi threats and attacks on maritime traffic Since 2023, which the group said were acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Between November 2023 and January 2024, Houthi forces targeted over 100 commercial vessels. The US and its allies restarted strikes in Yemen in mid-March after a brief lull.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against five individuals and three companies accused of helping finance Hezbollah through oil smuggling operations tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. The department described the network as a commercial front funneling millions of dollars into Hezbollah’s accounts under the oversight of senior financier Muhammad Qasir, who died in late 2024.

“These evasion networks strengthen Iran and its proxy Hezbollah and undermine the courageous efforts of the Lebanese people to build a Lebanon for all its citizens,” said Bradley T. Smith, Acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in a statement.

The Treasury added that Washington's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $10 million for information on Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure.

On the same day, Israeli warplanes struck a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, for the first time since a November ceasefire. Israeli officials said the site was used by the Iran-backed group to store drones.

In Washington, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce defended the strike.

"The Government of Lebanon is responsible for disarming Hezbollah," Bruce told reporters. "The reason that any attacks have happened is because terrorists launched rockets into Israel from Lebanon. That is a violation of the cessation of hostilities."

"Israel has to respond as the United States would have to respond," Bruce said. "We stand by Israel."

The US push on multiple fronts highlights a broader effort to limit the influence of Tehran’s allies and proxies in the region.

US President Donald Trump recently sent a letter to Tehran giving Iran a two-month deadline for reaching a new nuclear deal, Axios reported citing one US official and two sources briefed on the letter.

"You've got a lot of stuff going on with Iran, and we sent a letter to Iran," Trump said this week. "You're going to have to be speaking to us one way or the other pretty soon, because we can't let this happen."

Trump has demanded Tehran come to a deal or face a military intervention and warned any attack by Yemen's Houthis would be treated as emanating from Iran.

Iran says it has responded to the letter through Oman.