Rabia Iclal Turan
17 March 2025•Update: 17 March 2025
WASHINGTON
The US said Monday that its approach to Houthi attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea has undergone a "complete shift," stressing that such assaults are unacceptable and must come to an end.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce contrasted the Trump administration’s response with that of its predecessor, which she said had engaged in a "tit-for-tat dynamic" when responding to Houthi missile strikes.
"If the Houthis would be sending missiles or attacking both commercial and military ships, what the previous administration did is they would do one strike as a tit-for-tat dynamic. What's happening now is a complete shift when it comes to the nature of why it's going on, which is to stop the assault on maritime traffic in that area," Bruce said.
She noted that there have been approximately 174 attacks on American naval ships, calling it an "extraordinary number of attacks."
"It has to stop… So the message to the Houthis is: this will end, when you end the attack on both commercial and military ships in that region," she said.
On the issue of civilian casualties in Yemen, Bruce said that no one wants to see such tragedies unfold.
"Under no situation does anyone want that, this is a horrible dynamic. At the same time, the Houthis are pirates who have commandeered an entire country in addition to attempting to commandeer and threaten and harass shipping in the maritime area there," she said.
On Saturday, the US launched airstrikes on Houthis, killing at least 53 people and injuring 98 others, as President Donald Trump warned that “hell will rain down” if the group continues attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The Houthis have been attacking Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade, for what it said was a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip.
The group halted its attacks when the Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and Hamas. But it threatened to resume the attacks when Israel blocked all aid into Gaza on March 2.
