«Are they stopping the Houthis? No,» the president said. «Are they going to continue? Yes.»
President Biden admitted Thursday that a series of US airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen has not succeeded in stopping the terror group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping.
“Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?” a reporter asked Biden, 81, as he departed the White House for an event in North Carolina.
“Well, when you say ‘working,’ are they stopping the Houthis? No,” the president said.
“Are they going to continue? Yes.”
Earlier Thursday, US forces launched their fifth airstrike on the Houthis since last week, less than 24 hours after neutralizing 14 missiles that officials deemed an “imminent threat.”
“I know you saw reports out of Central Command last night about some additional strikes that we took to knock out a range of the missiles that were prepared to fire in the southern Red Sea,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“We did it again this morning, striking at some anti-ship missiles — a couple of anti-ship missiles that we had reason to believe were being prepared for imminent fire into the southern Red Sea,” he added.
Since Nov. 19, the Houthis have launched dozens of strikes on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, using weapons provided by Iran.
