The carrier USS Carl Vinson has arrived in the U.S. Navy operating area in the Red Sea, joining carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Both carrier strike groups are now working around the clock targeting Houthi targets in western Yemen, including the group’s military sites and its senior leadership.
“Why have just one, when you can have two juggernauts, operating around the clock, seven days a week,” commented Capt. Christ “Chowdah” Hill, CO of USS Truman In a statement Friday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that the group’s forces continue to target the U.S. Navy task force, and have launched “several cruise missiles and drones” at American targets in the Red Sea since Thursday. “Sooner or later, the enemy will realize that the . . . people of Yemen do not submit or kneel,” he claimed.
The strike campaign is just one aspect of the pressure that the Trump administration is applying to Houthi forces. The White House has also strongly encouraged Iran – the Houthi group’s primary foreign sponsor – to cease supplying arms and advisors to the Yemeni militants. Iran has reportedly withdrawn its personnel from Yemen as a precautionary measure, and is starting Omani-brokered talks with U.S. negotiators.