US Must Crush Houthi Capabilities, Not Just Defend, Senator Insists

An ongoing US military campaign must defeat Houthi fighters in Yemen to prove Washington's resolve to their Iranian backers, US Senator John Hoeven told Iran International.

"We need to take out the Houthis. We need to stop the Houthis from these attacks. It's not good enough to just play defense. We actually have to take out their ability to make these attacks," the Republican senator from North Dakota said.

"They are a proxy for Iran. They are funded by Iran. They are armed by Iran," he added. "It's not only important we take out the Houthis so that we can have safe, safe shipping in the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aden. It's also important to send very clear message to Iran that we know their proxies are armed and funded by Iran and doing Iran's bidding."

President Donald Trump on Mar. 15 ordered large-scale military strikes against dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, warning Iran not to keep supporting the group.

'Offshoot of Iran'

A Shi'ite religious militia, the Houthis seized much of the war-torn country beginning in 2014 and have been provided advanced drone and missile technology by Iran.

Trump has demanded Tehran come to a deal over its nuclear program or face a military intervention and warned any attack by the Houthis would be treated as emanating from Iran.

Following this week's attacks on the Houthis, Trump asserted once more that the Yemen group was Tehran's offshoot.

"They make their own missiles. They get their missiles also from Iran. It's an offshoot of Iran, another offshoot," he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

"You've got a lot of stuff going on with Iran, and we sent a letter to Iran. You're going to have to be speaking to us one way or the other pretty soon, because we can't let this happen," he added.