US Hits Houthi Targets in Yemen, as it Reaffirms Commitment to Fighting ISIS
Singh emphasized the Iranian-backed Houthis represent a threat to the US and others
Jan 9, 2025
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) - Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh emphasized two points about U.S. policy in the Middle East: regarding the threat posed by the Houthis in Yemen, as well as America’s continued commitment to the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
CENTCOM Strike on Houthi Targets
Singh emphasized that earlier in the day, CENTCOM had struck Houthi targets in Yemen. Notably, both CENTCOM’s statement about the strikes, as well as Singh’s statement, stressed the fact that the Houthis are backed by Iran.
That position marks a reversal of the Biden administration’s policy when it first took office in January 2021. It believed then that the Trump administration’s pressure on Iran, including its abrogation of the Obama era nuclear deal and the reimposition of economic sanctions, was a major cause of regional tensions.
Thus, the Biden administration initially sought to restore the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), lift sanctions, and restore relations with Iran.
However, the entire effort would prove a failure, as President Joe Biden stated in December 2022.
Read More: Joe Biden: Iranian nuclear deal is “dead”
The fundamental driver of tensions in the region was not U.S. pressure on Iran, and Tehran had not responded to the Biden administration’s overtures.
As part of its outreach to Iran, the Biden administration had been reluctant to link Iran to the aggressive activities of its proxies, but that is no longer the case, as Wednesday’s statements from Singh and CENTCOM demonstrate.
“U.S. Central Command forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian backed Houthi underground advanced conventional weapons storage facilities within Houthi controlled areas of Yemen,” Singh said, in her opening remarks in Wednesday’s press briefing,
“The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S, Navy ships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” she continued. “The strikes are part of CENTCOM's efforts to degrade these Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and commercial vessels in the region.”
CENTCOM’s statement added, “The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
CENTCOM’s statement explained that there had been “no injuries or damage to U.S. personnel or equipment,” as it described the strikes as “part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region.”
Continued Fight Against ISIS
Singh also affirmed a second key pillar of U.S. Middle East policy: the continued commitment to the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Singh was asked about the increase in U.S. strikes in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime a month ago.
She rejected the reporter’s suggestion that ISIS was reconstituting itself. Rather, as she explained, “Russian assets” had undergone a further consolidation with the collapse of the Assad regime, “which allowed U.S. Central Command to take actions in the Bidiya Desert and elsewhere, where we hadn’t previously done [a] significant amount of strikes.”
“That's exactly why we are in Syria and Iraq,” she continued, “to prevent them from becoming” the force “that we saw a decade ago, and that's why the mission there is so important.”
She explained that the time and place of the strikes was the decision of the commander. “So I wouldn't read too much into the cadence, as much as it's more about the right time, right place for these strikes to be done.”
Asked by a Turkish reporter about U.S. ties with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the fall of the Assad regime, Singh affirmed Washington’s continued support for the Kurdish-led group.
“The work that we do in Syria is a partnership with the SDF,” she said. “The whole reason why we are in Syria is to continue that enduring mission to defeat ISIS.”
“Nothing has changed in terms of our posture or our mission when it comes to Syria,” she affirmed.
