Trump Strikes Yemen’s Houthis in Netanyahu-Backed Proxy Move Against Iran

In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered attacks on Yemen’s Houthis. The targets included military sites, power grids, and various facilities, with dozens of civilian deaths reported. Why is Trump, who has declared himself a peacemaker, attacking the poorest country in the Arab world?

Photo: Donald Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government enjoys Donald Trump’s support no matter what it does. Recently, the Israeli military broke a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip despite protests from some Israeli citizens. Under various pretexts, Netanyahu continues to wage war with neighboring countries to create a “new Middle East,” having previously violated ceasefires in Lebanon and attacked multiple locations in Syria.

In Netanyahu’s vision of a “new Middle East,” Israel is the only regional power with the right to do as it pleases. Among the few who resist this are the Houthis, who have attacked Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The rebel Houthis, who control the capital Sana’a, are part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” an Iranian-led coalition fighting against Israel and the West in the Middle East.

Israel has carried out attacks on the Houthis, but geographical distance makes these operations inefficient and infrequent. This is why Israel called on Trump for help. Thanks to its network of military bases and aircraft carriers, the United States can operate globally. This is what happened in Yemen, with the justification being that the Houthis were attacking American and other ships in the Red Sea.

From Biden to Trump

Since October 2023, the Houthis have attacked ships heading to Israeli ports and then others. Exceptions were made for countries the Houthis consider friends, such as Russia and China, although these two countries allowed the United States and the United Kingdom to attack them under the authorization of the UN Security Council. The administration of Joseph Biden thus found itself in a war it did not need, which, with minor interruptions, continues to this day.

However, since January of this year, when Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis say they have not attacked any American ships. Their only targets have been ships linked to Israel, and they previously stated they would stop attacking these ships if the blockade of the Gaza Strip were lifted.

This is why Trump’s decision to launch attacks on the Houthis surprised many. In several waves of attacks, the U.S. military targeted vital Houthi infrastructure, including power grids, factories, and military sites, with a wedding hall under construction also hit. Dozens of civilians were killed. For those surprised by the move, Trump quickly provided an explanation on social media at the beginning of this week—blaming Iran for all Houthi attacks, claiming that Iran arms and trains them.

The Houthis have stated they will not back down, as it is their human and religious duty not to abandon Palestine. In recent days, they have fired rockets and drones at Israel and U.S. warships. On the other hand, Iran has reiterated that it does not control the Houthis and that they decide their actions.

That Trump is pulling the strings in this new escalation was shown a few days after his social media post. Midweek, he again took to social media to claim that Iran had reduced the “intensity” of its weapons assistance and “support” to the Houthis, whom he called “barbarians,” and urged Tehran to let the Houthis “fight on their own,” as they would “certainly lose” even with Iranian help.

Trump’s assertion that Iran has reduced its support to the Houthis is arbitrary, as this cannot be confirmed in such a short time. If a ship does not sail or a plane does not fly one day, it does not mean it won’t the next. Thus, it is clear that Trump is creating a narrative for the public and targeting Iran, which is Israel’s greatest adversary and has resisted the plans of Washington and Tel Aviv in the Middle East for years.

Between Negotiations and War

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the blows suffered by the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon, and losing its land connection to Iraq and Iran, Tehran now does not want war. Trump’s return to the White House is an additional problem, as the hawkish Republican does not hesitate to support Israel in every way.

On the other hand, Netanyahu has repeatedly said that this is the right time to create a “new Middle East,” meaning a redistribution of power in the region that would strengthen Tel Aviv and allied Arab regimes while weakening Iran and (pro-)Iranian forces across the region.

However, Netanyahu knows that Israel alone cannot defeat Iran, as was shown last year when some Arab states and Western allies came to its aid twice to defend against Iranian missile attacks. Additionally, Israeli attacks on Iran are supported by the United States and its allies. For a new, large, and decisive attack, Israel needs Trump’s support. Netanyahu has not hidden for decades that he wants to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and overthrow the Iranian government.

Trump, like his predecessors in the White House, has said that Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb is a red line for Washington. Iran has repeatedly stated that it does not want a bomb, as it contradicts its religious beliefs, but it will not abandon its civilian nuclear program. However, Iran’s nuclear program is slowly moving beyond its stated limits, as Tehran does not allow international inspectors to examine all facilities, and some ayatollahs are calling for a fatwa to acquire a nuclear bomb.

This means the Middle East is on the brink of a major war, and Trump is to blame not only for the attacks on the Houthis and new threats against Iran. In his first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, which required Tehran to abandon any intentions for atomic weapons in exchange for lifting sanctions. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China supported the agreement.

However, if Trump is unclear about what kind of war this would entail, U.S. military experts are not. They have warned for years that Iran is preparing for a confrontation with the United States and has serious capabilities to target U.S. military bases across the Middle East. Such a conflict would result in numerous casualties on both sides, and an environmental disaster cannot be ruled out if Iranian nuclear sites are destroyed.

Even before assuming the presidency, Trump reportedly contacted Iran and secretly negotiated. Media outlets have reported on this multiple times, with Trump’s associate Elon Musk mentioned as one of the negotiators on the American side. Both sides have denied some of these reports.

Conflict, but of What Kind?

Trump will not stop dealing with Iran, as Netanyahu is pushing him to do so. Tehran has recently stated that it does not want to negotiate with Trump because he does not honor agreements.

How important it is for Trump’s administration to break Iran is illustrated by an event in Paris this January, organized by the Iranian diaspora sympathetic to Western ideas. The world must return to a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, said Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, at the time. The retired U.S. general added that “these pressures are not just kinetic, not just military force, but must also be economic and diplomatic.”

Trump was more direct. He wants to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program, stop producing ballistic missiles, and change its policy toward the region. In other words, Trump wants Iran to be incapable of independently conducting its policies. The attack on the Houthis is part of a plan testing the limits of Iran’s commitment to its allies, as was the case with the recent formation of the Lebanese government.

Iran has not relented so far, despite struggling with economic problems. “Maximum pressure” is having an impact, and some wonder what would happen if Tehran agreed to Washington’s demands. Trump has expressed a desire to negotiate peace with Iran in the Middle East, but his ally in Tel Aviv wants much more than that. Since Trump is the one leading this new round of escalation in the Middle East, it is up to him whether and how he will reconcile all differences. If no agreement is reached and Trump continues to attack Iranian interests in the Middle East, any kind of conflict is possible.

This article was previously published on the nap.ba.

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