Tulsi Gabbard Tries to Drag Reluctant Nations Into Houthi Attacks
“We will look to other affected countries, as there are many impacted by this, to similarly take action,” the intel chief said at a security conference in India.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has called on other nations to band together to stop Houthi militants in the Red Sea, after President Donald Trump launched a wave of deadly air strikes on the Iranian-backed group over the weekend.
Gabbard, speaking from Raisina Dialogue—an annual security conference in India—implored U.S. partners to get stronger on the Houthis in the vital shipping region that links Europe to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, via the Gulf of Aden. “Our country and other countries should not be in a position to reroute commerce going through that area simply because of the threat that exists,” Gabbard said.
Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, March 15.
White House/via REUTERS
Her demands follow a sudden uptick in long-running hostilities, with the Yemen-based group vowing to target more Israeli-linked ships in the region due to Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza. In response, Trump sanctioned strikes on the Middle-Eastern country, killing at least 32 people on Saturday.
The raids, which continued into the early hours of Sunday, were mainly centered on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and also wounded 101 people.
Referencing Trump’s response, Gabbard told Indian state broadcaster NDTV: “We will look to other affected countries, as there are many impacted by this, to similarly take action.”
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India is one of those nations affected by militant activity in the region. The saga has prompted shipping companies to avoid the area, instead taking longer, costlier routes.
The Houthis, meanwhile, responded to Trump’s blitz with a bombardment of their own. The aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its fleet were targeted overnight Sunday, a Houthi spokesperson said Monday.
Some 18 missiles and a drone peppered the vessels in a two-phase attack over the last 24 hours “in retaliation to the continued American aggression against our country,” the spokesperson wrote on Telegram.
The earlier ambush didn’t even come close to hitting U.S. targets, an official confirmed to ABC News. The militant group, however, said that it had “succeeded in thwarting a hostile attack the enemy was preparing to launch against our country.” American representatives are yet to comment on the second operation.
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