US attacks Iranian-backed targets for third day in a row

The United States launched dozens of strikes across the Middle East this weekend as Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken called on the region to advance negotiations to secure the release of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza and for more humanitarian aid to get help in the battered areas. enclave.

The latest strike took place on Sunday in Yemen, where the according to the US military it had destroyed an anti-ship cruise missile belonging to Houthi militants and posed “an immediate threat to U.S. Navy and merchant vessels in the region.”

It was the third U.S. military action against Iranian-backed militias in as many days: The United States led strikes on 36 Houthi targets in northern Yemen on Saturday and carried out airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Syria and Iraq on Friday.

U.S. officials insist the strikes were carefully calibrated to avoid an open confrontation with Iran and say they have damaged the militias' ability to attack U.S. forces.

Still, the militias all remain formidable Iranian allies, especially the heavily armed Houthis in Yemen, and the attacks against them risked the kind of escalation of hostilities that President Biden has tried to avoid since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began in October. .

During a four-day trip, Mr Blinken is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank. His goal, in part, is to “continue the work to prevent the spread of the conflict,” said Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman.

Secretary of State Miller will also “continue discussions with partners on how to create a more integrated, peaceful region that includes sustainable security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

The most immediate goal, however, is to secure an agreement that would include the release of the more than 100 remaining people kidnapped in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and a humanitarian pause in the conflict to allow the delivery of aid to make. civilians in Gaza.

Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden's national security adviser, said on Sunday that ensuring more aid reaches civilians in Gaza would be a “top priority” for Mr. Blinken during his trip, including during meetings with the Israeli government. “We want to ensure they have access to life-saving food, medicine, water and shelter, and we will continue to push until that happens,” he said. on CBS's “Face the Nation.”

The trip is Mr. Blinken's fifth trip to the region since the war began. So was his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné barnstorm of the Middle East, where he made his first stop in Egypt on Sunday.

Friday's attacks were largely in retaliation for a drone strike by an Iranian-backed militia that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan on Jan. 28. US officials insisted in the aftermath that there had been no backchannel discussion with Tehran or any form of silence. agreement not to hit Iran directly. And on Sunday they warned of even more.

“The president was clear as he ordered and led them that this was the beginning of our response and that there will be more steps to come,” national security adviser Sullivan said on CNN's “State of the Union.” ”

Mr. Sullivan said he did not want to “pull our punches” by revealing details of future actions. But he said the goal was to punish those who target the Americans without sparking a direct confrontation with Iran.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the American-led attacks in Yemen. a statement that they “fostered chaos, disorder, insecurity and instability” in the region.

The attacks are expected to prompt Iran to withdraw for fear of risking a shooting war with a much larger force. But what its allies – all of whom depend on Tehran for money, weapons and intelligence – will do is much harder to predict.

This is especially true of the Houthis, who control parts of Yemen and have continued their attacks on ships in the Red Sea since late last year, despite American and British attacks.

Neither U.S. nor Arab officials believe the Houthis' capabilities have been significantly affected by the campaign, and the militants have vowed to continue attacking ships in the Red Sea, linking their fight to the Palestinians' fight against Israel in Gaza. Their attacks have roiled the commercial shipping industry, forcing many ships to take long detours around the southern tip of Africa.

Taking on the Houthis is “like fighting fog,” said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Even a determined effort to eradicate their supplies would take years, he warned. “They have a lot of light weapons that are easy to hide and hard to find,” he said.

Reporting was contributed by Aaron Bokserman, Michael D. Shear, David E. Sanger And Farnaz Fassihi.