houthi threat. for years the houthis have benefited from support provided by iran, and hezbollah, which transform this group of ragtag guerrillas into a fighting force with the capacity to destabilize the entire region and disrupt global trade. but the world has consistently downplayed this threat and iran's role in enabling them. the biden administration's policies have emboldened the houthis at the expense of our regional partners. and by projecting weakness on the world stage, this administration has invited aggression. while iran was smuggling weapons to the houthis, this administration was busy lifting terror designations and cutting off of support to saudi arabia and amid houthi cross-border fire. appeasement has no place in u.s. foreign policy, but that is exactly what has occurred in yemen and beyond. even now this administration continues to treat the houthis with kid gloves. they are promoting a a u.n. pe deal that would legitimize the houthis violet autocratic rule over millions of innoce

the houthis. -- and coordinated with the iranian military, the houthis have launched a barrage of attacks, missiles, aerial drones, against ships transiting through the red sea. the red sea is one of the most important geostrategic locations in the world. 15% of international maritime commerce passes through its waters and now 90% of red sea traffic has been forced to choose longer and costlier alternatives. the cost increases to global shipping will be significant. consumers will bear the brunt of that at the impact is not just economic due to the houthis actions in the red sea, they have not been able to make their deliveries. in sudan, where 95% of the population cannot afford more than one meal per day, aid deliveries are crucially delayed and, at significantly higher costs. i oppose the u.s. involvement in the yemen war. i regret that the houthis are now strong enough to attack our interests in the region but this is where we are. now that we are in the crosshairs, we must respond. that is wh

the houthis are an army. you talk about the pmfs in syria, iraq, and other places in the middle east, they're gangs. they literally, we can't think of them being a tank division you can bomb and there are a lot of casualties there. these are small groups of individuals, flying under different flags and not having a lot of military capabilities. the houthis, on the other hand, have shown, over the last ten years as part of the fight with saudi arabia and then in yemen themselves. they've shown themselves as being somewhat militarily capable. so i'd like to bring the conversation to something else. to the individuals who were saying it took five days for the u.s. to do this, we publicized what we were going to do. i guarantee there are qud force elements on the ground and the houthis who don't know what hit them. they are getting hit from multiple directions from a force coming in, in some cases, the united states, in some cases allies. and we're showing the requirement for the complexity of a planning of an op

and again, it's the usual suspects in yemen attacking the houthi targets, taking far from the houthi targets. it's also the usual suspects attacking and exchanging fire with those iranian-backed groups in syria and iraq. we're talking about this latest wave of attacks and reprisals, retribution against those three american servicemen who were killed in northeast jordan. we haven't still seen much of a differentiation, we're still waiting an increase in tempo and character of the attacks that the u.s. is making against these iranian-backed groups, and again in yemen, and in syria and iraq. but we are not seeing a qualitative difference in the style and detect against those groups. we are still seeing the same cast of characters, the same style of reprisals, and none of this is really making all that much of a difference. we've been seeing is actually for the past several months. this is a challenge that the pentagon faces going forward. how to differentiate. we are seeing now, after the death of those three servicemen, from what we saw over the past several months, ever since the octo

the houthis is a tribe in the north of yemen.ey have been able to take over much of yemen, as a result of internal strife there. and so they are able to continue to carry out these attacks. they were involved in, basically, a war with saudi arabia for a couple of years. and so, i think, again, they are trying to demonstrate that they are not going to be cowed by u.s. military action. but i must say, the number of strikes that are taking place and the size of the munitions being used, hopefully, will degrade their ability to carry out these attacks against civilian champion, merchant shipping in the red sea. >> might other iran-backed militia groups be drawn into this fight? >> well, i think they already are throughout the region, which is one of the challenges the united states faces. what is going on in syria, iraq, and against our forces in jordan and other areas, i think is iran trying to show that it has the ability to disrupt activities in the region by using these proxy forces that they have supplied and funded over the pas

but there is a long history with the houthis in yemen. in fact, the saudis fought a multi year war against the houthis, that at one point was backed by the united states. because there has been, there has been perceived to be a real problem with the houthis, there are huge questions about their approach to human rights for example, in yemen. yemen is a very, very poor country, and it's been fought over. and of course, its neighbors saudi arabia. so saudi arabia considered to be a threat. now what's interesting is that the saudi arabia and the houthis in yemen were on the verge of a peace deal, things had really calmed down, just at the point at which october 7th happened, and then everything flares up again. so, you can just see in that story that on the one hand, the gaza crisis is a capitalist. on the other hand, many of the things that we are seeing our issues that have been in place for a long time. and that just takes us back to this point about iran, because i think what is happening right now for many americans is they are getting

forces and yemeni houthi forces.s is different, this is part of the larger attack that we saw starting last night. we are going to get more information on this, i want to go to matt bradley in tel aviv, who is following this very closely with me. matt, this is a big attack. >> yeah, this is a big attack. and we have been hearing from the pentagon that there will be continuous attacks, or weeks of attacks and reprisal. but you know, this is part of an effort to continue to attack against these iranian proxies. but we have been seeing attacks like this, not necessarily to the same degree, but continuous, for the last several months. we actually have been seeing attacks against iranian proxy groups in iran and syria for the past several months as well, and retribution for the attacks that we are seeing almost daily by those groups in iraq and syria. this is part of that continuum, this is part of those continuous attacks. this time against the houthis in yemen, who have been taking strikes against international shipping

this involved strikes on houthi inuc

this involved strikes on houthi infrastructure, houthi targets, houthi weaponry and equipment, including radar and equipment, underground storage facilities, things the u.s. and uk believe the houthis have been utilizing to attack commercial shipping. the question is whether it's going to work. secretary of defense lloyd austin said in the statement last night that, quote, this collective action sends a clear message to the houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they don't end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval ve vessels. the u.s. and its allies have been framing these strikes inside yemen as self-defense, because the houthis have been targeting u.s. naval warships, including just last week we should note when a missile came within just one mile of a u.s. warship, roughly eight times closer than they have come before. it forced the warship to use one of its last lines of defenses to defend itself against this incoming missile. the u.s. clearly very concerned about this. they don't have a great idea at this point of just how many weapons an

the houthis are of that group.n that sense -- again, within the movement, there is a certain variety in the since the houthis are extremist zaidis and developed their ideology and policies to strengthen their own branch. they basically emerged in response to the rise of suni fundamentalism within their own area in the far north of yemen. so there has been conflicts and problems arising since the 1990's. between 2004-2010, there was a series of six wars between the houthis basic and fighting that then regime of the president. this ended basically -- each one ended with a cease-fire which was probably broken. the reason the last one in 2010 was not broken as a result of the uprising in 2011 known as the arab spring in various places, and that was a moment when the houthis joined with the revolutionaries and basically took the position against -- they continued their position against the regime. during what was a transition -- supposed a transition period which should have become a more democratic regime in 2014, the

the houthis. so i think as this drum beat of strikes goes on, it's going to be harder and harder for them to stay reserved. especially when u.s. officials specifically call them out saying we are hitting iranian revolution guard related targets and promised more to come. >> and beth, i want to ask you about iran and the red sea. when you look at the proxy groups across the region and iran's influence on them, iran doesn't have a lot to lose by telling those groups to antagonize the u.s. in iraq and syria to tell hezbollah essentially to start scaring up a bit of a skirmish with israel along that northern border. but the red sea that is truly a global issue, so what pressure do you think that iran would now be feeling to in turn pressure the houthis to stop doing what they're doing because of their alliances, their relationships with countries like india and china. >> yes. well, you know, this was supposed to be a subject we heard from press reports between national security adviser sullivan and th

we have -- houthi attacks. we have a duty to respond to that and ensure that mariners can safely transit thwartway -- this waterway. in the freedom of navigation. so, again, we'll continue to stay focused on that. but it should be very clare that our goal here in both -- clear that our goal here in both situations is to ensure security and stability in those regions. we're not seeking to escalate. but if our forces are threatened we will respond appropriately. let me come back into the room. ashley. reporter: i wanted to follow up on the analysis into what happened at tower 22. where does that stand? you have identified the group? how did the drone get in? gen. ryder: i'd refer you to centcom for any updates in terms of their review into the attack, as has been highlighted. we know this -- according to our intelligence community, the islamic resistance in iraq, the umbrella tkpwraup, is responsible -- group, is responsible. but again, bears the hallmarks of a group like hezbollah. but that continues to be reyou

now, several months on from when the houthis started this campaign again shipping, it appears houthisn shipping, it appears that houthis started this campaign again shipping, it appears that both those objectives haven't really achieved much success, right? the houthis have not been dissuaded from launching attacks and their capabilities haven't been degraded. because this goes on. so it is difficult to see what the kind of endgame, as the diplomats say, what the off ramp is here. what does success look like when you are trying to deter and degrade and, frankly, it is not working?- frankly, it is not working? thank ou ve frankly, it is not working? thank you very much — frankly, it is not working? thank you very much indeed, - frankly, it is not working? thank you very much indeed, will - frankly, it is not working? thank. you very much indeed, will vernon. the secretary of defence lloyd austin has said the following. today, the militaries of the united states and the uk, support also from australia, bahrain, canada, denmark, the netherlands and new zealand conducted additional strike

by the houthis, deterring the attacks byj houthis, deterring the attacks by the nriiitias _ houthis,ils| the militias. has deterrence fails and if— the militias. has deterrence fails and if you — the militias. has deterrence fails and if you are _ the militias. has deterrence fails and if you are going _ the militias. has deterrence fails and if you are going to _ the militias. has deterrence fails and if you are going to retaliate. the militias. has deterrence failsl and if you are going to retaliate in the time — and if you are going to retaliate in the time and _ and if you are going to retaliate in the time and place _ and if you are going to retaliate in the time and place your— and if you are going to retaliate inj the time and place your choosing, and if you are going to retaliate in. the time and place your choosing, is that not— the time and place your choosing, is that not an — the time and place your choosing, is that not an escalation, _ the time and place your choosing, is that not an escalation, particularly. that not an escalation, particularly given— that not an escal

i think desite houthis capabilities? i think despite the _ houthis capabilities?despite the us and - houthis capabilities? i think despite the us and british l houthis capabilities? i think. despite the us and british air strikes, the houthis have been able to maintain significant capabilities and will continue their attacks on red sea shipping and that's in large part due to the types of attacks that houthis amounting to not require an enormous amount of military capabilities that are using things that are mobile, like drones and missiles that can be moved from place to place and there's a real challenge for the united states in the uk to eliminate the capabilities and the us and uk have not pursued the alternative which is to engage in a strike that is so tough and iranian targets that could they convince houthis to pull back. to they convince houthis to pull back. ., ., ., , back. to tour the houthis completely? _ back. to tour the houthis completely? inside - back. to tour the houthis i completely? inside yemen, back. to tour the houthis - completely? inside y

houthis.anising the houthis an enticing everyone to test their weapons through the houthis end the red sea. this is what you will see more technology transferred from the iranian revolutionary guard to yemen where they are trading, and also providing their latest weaponry to the houthis with small concessions from the americans, and uk and saudi so expecting further escalation not deterrence from the houthis. not deterrence from the houthis-_ not deterrence from the houthis. ~ ., , �* houthis. what impact isn't havinu houthis. what impact isn't having economically - houthis. what impact isn't having economically from | houthis. what impact isn't - having economically from that benefit a lot from this trade route? , . , route? --is it having. it is forcing — route? --is it having. it is forcing a— route? --is it having. it is forcing a lot _ route? --is it having. it is forcing a lot of _ route? --is it having. it is forcing a lot of ships - route? --is it having. it is forcing a lot of ships t

we have a whole range _ houthis in yemen. we have a whole range of— houthis in yemen.ave a. whole range of militias formed with different connections to iran. there is an umbrella group with militia involved so it's hard to establish the links and iran's support for its network comes in severalforms. first, money. in 2020, the us estimated that iran gave hezbollah $700 million a year, as well as $100 million a year to palestinian groups, including hamas. and it estimates the houthis have received hundreds of millions of dollars too. iran doesn't acknowledge this funding, but as well as money iran is supplying weapons too. recently, two us military personnel died in an operation to intercept a boat in the red sea. the us released this image. it says the boat was transporting iranian—made weapons to the houthis — or there's hezbollah — one estimate put his arsenal at 130,000 rockets and missiles. it's believed many of them come from iran. and if iran is supplying money and weapons, is it also coordinating the actions of its allies? after october the seventh, the us ackno

, the houthis retaliate.r, the feeling of the fear and the trust in american and british and the coalition to stop and make safety for this route is not convincing these to come back so unfortunately those strikes don't bear the fruit or achieve their purpose so far. �* ., ., ,., so far. and what about the urou -s so far. and what about the groups themselves? - so far. and what about the groups themselves? if - so far. and what about the | groups themselves? if they decide to escalate against the us and the uk, what sort of things might they do? the houthis and _ things might they do? the houthis and other - things might they do? tue: houthis and other groups things might they do? tte: houthis and other groups link it to a run because what happens, the 85 targets yesterday —— iran. groups linked to iran and iran and syria. now they are going to retaliate. in addition to that, iranians are saying what americans have done is a strategic mistake so they will be a response. the houthis will carry on with causing

the houthis included. what they really mean is, make a cease-fire with hamas right now on better terms for hamas, it weakens israel and the u.s. interests in the region. that's what iran is about. that's what the houthis are saying right now. we'll keep going until we get what we want which is a weakened israel. >> all right. thank you both very much. >>> turning back to the united states, joe biden touting his victory in the south carolina democratic primary, telling supporters that the stakes could not be higher. jeff zeleny joins us with the details. what are we hearing from the president's campaign since the victory? >> reporter: of course, president biden is accepting and declaring victory here and they are quite happy about this. of course, this is why they changed the democratic nominating calendar in the first place. to start in south carolina. they believe a strong showing here will set the path going forward. in a statement released a few moments ago, the president said this. the people of south

strikes on the houthis in yemen. str strikes against the militants in iraq and syria, but how different do you think what we've seen over the course of the past 24 hours is and what does it mean for what we're going to see in the next few weeks? >> it's a little different in the sense that it is a response to what white house advisers referred to as their nightmare scenario over months now. the thing they really, really were most concerned about was that iran's proxies would strike the u.s. and we would have servicemen and women in the field dead. that's now happened and the americans have to respond. they have to respond with significant escalation. which they've done. and they've not just targeted proxies. they've also targeted the irgc. in other words, iranian assets and some iranian advisers on the ground in syria. in iraq. having said that, they've also telegraphed that to iran days in advance. what that means is both that it is much less likely that the u.s. and iran will get into a direct shooting war and ever

-led coalition struck more than two dozen houthi targets.he targets of those strikes and what we're now hearing from the militant group in response to the strikes. >>> president biden notches his first victory in the primary in south carolina. the signs democrats point to as good news for biden heading into the general election. >>> we're trashing a dangerous weather situation in california. evacuation orders are in place. schools are closed tomorrow, it's all in preparation for what forecasters are calling an intense atmosphere river. the forecast and warnings from emergency officials, we'll have those just ahead. >>> we're starting in the middle east where the u.s. carried out more strikes against iran-backed houthi rebels in yemen. the u.s. said it conducted the strikes in self-defense and struck a houthi missile prepared to launch. earlier the u.s. and uk launched missiles against targets in the red sea. >> officials said the strikes hit over 30 targets, over 13 locations associated with the houthis' deeply buried weapons facility storag

is it deterring the houthis? no.bombed by the saudis for many years and survived them, they are used to surviving and defending against air strikes. secondly, used to surviving and defending againstairstrikes. secondly, it used to surviving and defending against air strikes. secondly, it is actually in the houthis political interest for these attacks to continue because although they say they are attacking all these merchant ships in the red sea in sympathy and support for palestinians in gaza, it is clear they are doing it because it is popular internally within yemen, which the houthis only control part of it. it is boosting their profile and influence regionally. they are becoming players within the middle east and gulf in a way they haven't been for some time. relying primarily on their iranians support. they are emerging more independent actors, so at the moment being attacked by the united states and uk is bolstering the position of the houthis, so they are making it clear the more attacks there are, the more i

i degrading the houthi capabilities?- degrading the houthi caabilities? ~ , capabilities?ities? i think they probably are. the - capabilities? i think they probably are. the latest| capabilities? i think they - probably are. the latest was 40 probably are. the latest was a0 targets and it has been going on for some time. the houthis have a finite amount of weaponry. it will degrade, it will be slow. 0ne weaponry. it will degrade, it will be slow. one of the other element is going to be to be able to intercept any resupply. but it will have a degrading... what it probably will not have is any dissuading power over the houthi. the houthi will continue until they have their last missile to fire, and i think we need to understand that. ~ , _, ., that. will they continue to get restocked _ that. will they continue to get restocked and _ that. will they continue to get restocked and supported - that. will they continue to get restocked and supported by i that. will they continue to get l restocked and supported by iran as well? i restocked and supported by iran as well? ., , . .

strikes on houthi targets. again, that attempt to throw off or disrupt their ability to continue these attacks. despite these latest u.s. strikes, the houthis promised the attacks will continue. oren leiberman, cnn, in the pentagon. >> despite the continued strikes and warnings, the houthi rebels are showing no signs of stopping their attacks on international shipping lanes. cnn's nic robertson has more. >> reporter: the houthis are calling this third round of joint coalition strikes against their military facilities an escalation, and they're vowing to respond to this escalation with escalation they see. it's rhetoric, but if you look at their track record since the strikes began on them several weeks ago, they have continued to strike international shipping in the red sea. the houthis as well as went through an almost 8-year military campaign against the saudis, muff of that by the saudi air force doing the same sort of thing, targeting their military hardware on the ground. the saudis at that time were suppo

how can they deter the houthis completely?nd such a target and with the united states with the uk do not want to do, they do not want to reignite or get themselves involved any more than they have to in yemen, and if you want to escalate further, take the next step and again horizontal escalation in looking at iranian targets that can be supporting the houthis. at the same time. that we have seen the strikes in iraq and syria, we see in the usa saying this isjust the beginning, do you see a long running operation in the region? i think that's what the white house is trying to avoid, the conundrum from white house wants to retaliate because we did average american service members killed, doesn't want to be dragged to a long way east or spark a regional war and they want to prevent and avoid and so what that means is you get this us retaliation that is relatively modest, i don't want to downplay it too much because they did kill some militia members on the other side but it is not perhaps to stop the attacks or spark that confro

today the houthis -- sorry, the group of countries hit at least 30 houthi targets across more than aen different locations. senior biden administration officials say that president biden approved this strikes earlier in the week. now, all of this is coming just a day after the u.s. launched other airstrikes. those were retaliatory strikes against iran-backed militants in both iraq and syria. those followed the deadly drone attack last weekend on sunday on u.s. troops in jordan that left three american service members dead. cnn's international diplomatic editor nic robertson is live in israel on more on what it could mean for the region. first, let's get to cnn's oren lieberman at the pentagon. unlike yesterday's strikes, today's the u.s. did not conduct alone. >> reporter: that's right. this was one against conducted with the uk. it is the third time the two nations have operated together to strike houthi targets in yemen. the message effectively coming out together from these countries, saying that they find the ongoing attacks from the iran-backed rebel group on international shipp

but the houthi attacks keep coming. >> could the houthis do this without iranian support? >> no.e, the iranians have been supplying the houthis, they've been resupplying them. they're resupplying them, as we sit here right now at sea. we know this is happening. they're advising them, and they're providing targeting information. this is crystal clear. >> are there members of iran's elite revolutionary guard corp. that are actually on the ground in yemen providing intelligence and targeting? >> the iranian revolutionary guard corp. is inside yemen, and they are serving side by side with the houthis, advising them and providing target information. >> so, what have we done to degrade that capability? >> that will obviously end up being a policy decision. our role at this point is to simply be ready and continue to be aggressive in exercising our right to self-defense. >> do these offensive u.s. air strikes against these houthi targets in yemen risk escalating this conflict? >> i don't think so. we're targeting those platforms that are targeting us. >> if we were to look at the calend

those attacks on houthi taruets so far. those attacks on houthi targets by _ so far.argets by the uk _ so far. those attacks on houthi targets by the uk and - so far. those attacks on houthi targets by the uk and us - so far. those attacks on houthi targets by the uk and us have| so far. those attacks on houthi - targets by the uk and us have been continuing, the drone strikes on friday night, the us launching its own last night, as well, we have been looking at the impact of the strikes but also the impact of those houthi attacks on vessels. let's begin in november, in this area off the coast of yemen, this is where houthis have been launching attacks, backed by iran, and the first few mostly here the red sea, many are neara mostly here the red sea, many are near a pinch point. this is an example, when houthis seized a cargo ship and released this footage, and the us and uk launched air strikes after the initial attacks on the 11th of january, and there was a second set on the 22nd and over the weekend there were more. this video verified, shows air strikes, and the

a day earlier, houthis or iran to pull back. a day earlier. the _ houthis or iran to pull back.the us _ houthis or iran to pull back. a day earlier, the us hit _ houthis or iran to pull back. a day earlier, the us hit dozens - houthis or iran to pull back. a day earlier, the us hit dozens of- earlier, the us hit dozens of targets linked to iran, and the malicious its supporters in iraq and syria. it was a response to each attack on us base injordan. the us blamed it on the iranians backed militia. today, a funeralfor the 16 fighters killed. as in yemen, the air strikes here in iraq and syria were calibrated. we still don't know how effective this latest attack or if iran and its proxies are going to respond. from iraq to yemen, the war in gaza has exacerbated tensions across the region. talks for a ceasefire between israel and hamas continue, the main hope is to prevent even more violence. earlier i spoke to the dr patrick bury — a defence and security expert from bath university and former nato analyst — and asked for his thoughts on how targets are being selected it will basic

and uk targeting houthi targets. that is an ongoing mission with the coalition to diminish the capabilities of the houthis targeting u.s. vessels and commercial vessels in the red sea, all underscoring this balance that joe biden is having toterring these iranian proxies but not being pulled into a wider war. jake sullivan saying the u.s. is going to respond forcefully and clarity, but they do not want to escalate tensions in the region. rather, they are trying to focus on deterrence. fredricka? >> thank you. ben, houthis are promising to respond. what is being said? >> reporter: yes. they have said that they will meet escalation with escalation, that they will continue to target navigation in the red sea and the gulf of aden. in fact, a member of the -- sort of the poll it bureau of the houthis said the u.s./british coalition bombing will not change our position, and we affirm that our military operations against israel will continue until the crimes of genocide in gaza are stopped and the siege of its residents lif

this is seen as a strategic opportunity by the houthis.are not being deterred by any kind of western attacks. it is boosting their support domestically and in the region. >> our diplomatic correspondent with the latest on that developing story. ank you for the moment. back to our main story. they rose to fame after storming a moscow cathedral in protest against vladimir putin and the orthodox church. they were arrested after storming the 2018 world cup final in russia and in 2021 they were listed as foreign agents by the russian government. now on sunday, members of the feminist group pussy riot protested i give the death of alexei navalny outside the russian embassy in berlin. they were wearing as you can see pink while the club was and holding a banner reading murderers. on friday the group posted a statement which said putin is personally responsible for the death of my friend. navalny, in russia's light and hope and its bravest heart. joining me as one of the members who was at sunday's protest. we see escape russia and is on house arr

and british military struck three dozen houthi sites in yemen in an effort to deter houthi attacks on ships. the u.s. navy tasked with defending against them. >> the weapon we're most concerned with is ballistic missiles >> reporter: like the one that hit this ship in january how would you describe the environment out here right now >> i'd say it's a pretty intense environment out here. >> reporter: as captain of the "uss mason," commander justin smith has to make a split-second decision to shoot down an incoming missile. >> we're talking a matter of seconds here but my decision, a commander decision based on whether i'm going to engage that inbound threat i have about 10 to 15 seconds of decision time >> reporter: the ship's spy radar first detects the missile launch hundreds of miles away sailors quickly put on their fire resistant gear as they assess what was launched. >> anti-ship ballistic missiles based off speed, altitude, and maneuvering, inbound mason. >> reporter: and the u.s. fires its own missile to hit the incoming houthi missile. here in the ship's control room, they pra

this houthi video shows an assault on a car transporter — the galaxy leader.rew were kidnapped and remain in detention. the other attacks have led shipping companies to make big changes to their routes. look here for example at this passage from taiwan to the netherlands. that traverses the bab el—mandeb strait end the suez canal. in normal times, 15% of global trade passes through the red sea every year. now many ship masters are taking them much longer passage around the cape of good hope, adding eight to ten days to the journey. the british foreign secretary lord cameron has said the reckless actions of the houthis are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening the freedom of navigation and destabilising the region. and iran, which backs the houthis, has said the us and uk are fuelling chaos, disorder, insecurity and instability by supporting israel. here in the uk, a woman has died following an incident involving two dogs in essex. police say a man has been arrested following the attack in the village ofjaywick, near clacton—0n—sea — on suspicion of dange

houthis. it's a really interesting point that we are at right now because the biden administration has been very clear from the start that we do not want a wider war. president biden is the one who, you know, you saw ended the american presence in afghanistan. he's stayed out of ukraine. the last thing he wants in an election year when he's facing donald trump is going into another war in the middle east. but at the same time, these groups knew this as well. the united states has been very clear that killing -- you know, there have been a lot of attacks on american bases ever since the israel gaza hamas war started. but they haven't come with american troop casualties. and that was a red line. and you know, there is some debate over whether just how nervous iran got after these troops were killed. you saw the iran irgc head say on wednesday that iran didn't seek a wider war. you saw katib hezbollah put out a statement saying they were going to halt their attacks after that. there was a lot of

houthis.of commerce in the world's most critical waterways. shifting gears, deputy secretary of defense kathleen hicks presided over the change of command ceremony to honor general glenn van kirk, for his three decades in leadership, and welcome general greg yo, as the north american defense commander. she was accompanied by canadian minister of national defense, the honorable bill blare who oversaw the norad change of command, and the chief of the defense staff of the canadian armed forces, general wayne a ayer. they are central to our ability to defend the homeland, whether it's disaster response, maritime domain or cyber defense. it enhances our common security and deepens our ties to our closest neighbors. also u.s.-based command will host the capstone event starting today through february 16th at van den burg, california. and u.s. base commands premoour cooperation effort designed to strengthen and grow international partnerships, improve operational collaboration and promote responsible

and they're leaving out the houthis. so if the houthis decide to escalated attacks, that's a whole -- that's a different part of the campaign. so, again, they are hoping that iran and its proxies get the message. we're hearing some reports that one top commander of a proxy group in anbar province was killed in the strike. >> bret: okay. we will continue to follow that. jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thank you. let's find out what is going on right now in israel. get reaction from the region. senior correspondent mike tobin is in tel aviv tonight with the latest there. good evening, mike. >> good evening, bret. despite the statement from john kirby the nfc spokesman informed before these strikes that took place. we are getting a different take from iraqi military spokesman who says the strikes inside iraq violate iraqi sovereignty and threaten to pull the region into, coat quote, dire consequences. mean time we do have sources on the ground confirming indeed the area inside iraq near al keim which is by the wester

strikes, houthis promise the attacks will continue. oren lieberman, cnn in the pentagon. >>> iran's foreign minister reportedly told the u.n. that these strikes make it difficult to reach a political solution in the region. according to state run media, he is slamming the u.s. for trying to resolve issues by force. russia also requesteden a urgent u.n. security council meeting which is happening monday. russian ministry of foreign affairs says the united states is purposefully trying to plunge the largest countries in the region into conflict. >>> russian officials say at least 28 people were killed after a strike on a building near the frontlines in eastern ukraine. moscow claims ukraine was targeting a bakery when it hit a two story building in a town occupied by russian forces. cnn can't verify these claims and kyiv hasn't made a comment on the incident. the town was captured by russian forces in july 2022, it was one of moscow's last conquests before ukraine success if i summer counteroffensive in the kharkiv region. meanwhile russ

and the continued strikes on houthi targets in yemen.t does seem that whereas before we were talk about a low-intensity conflict, the intensity of the war between the indirect war between the united states and iran is increasing. kim. >> all right. ben wedeman in amman, i want to bring in paula hancocks in about due abu dhabi. we heard ben talk about the accusations that are fuelling a broader regional conflict. is that happening, do you think? >> reporter: well, what you hear from the american side is that this is not an escalation, they're pointing out in particular, when you look at the strikes overnight from friday into saturday in iraq and syria, they're pointing out that this is in retaliation for a deadly drone attack that happened last month, an iranian-backed militia they say carried out this drone attack and killed three u.s. service members, injured dozens more. and they said that this war is something that they had said would happen. in fact, we understand from u.s. officials that very quickly after that attack took place, pr

the houthis from the -- and gave this impression it is okay and the list goes on. the u.s. is involved enough. to weaken these militias, you need nation states that function. iraq, lebanon, syria, they're weakness has allowed for iran to extend its power and influence. one of key things iran has wanted to be able to create in the region is to have a land border and control running from iran all the way to hezbollah. so cutting through iraq, cutting through syria, and into lebanon. and so has worked for years on this and continues to wield influence. what we're seeing on the ground, also in the last two days, you've seen the militia leaders appear in baghdad to say we're still here. musla, who was the brigade targeted by the americans in their strikes on iraq most recently, was there in public being seen saying i could walk about without -- with impunity in iraq. if you had a strong nation state that holds to account militia leaders then we would have a different conversation rather than waiting for air strikes that don't bring a solution. it is hard work but you ne

eric: the houthis say we are the aggressors.say the u.s. and the uk are purposefully avoiding irg c rating direct iranian centers there is an alleged spy ship for example that is iranian owned that helps detect houthis attacks they say is there any sense the u.s. or the uk could eventually cross the line and directly attack the irg c assets? >> we had reports certainly the irg supported assets were struck yesterday. but one of the things we are getting from these are rating backed militant groups is defiance from them. and a bit of taunting saying they had plenty of heads up the strikes were coming. you heard the discussion about telegraphing these particular attacks. they say they got the message in the telegraph and and the got te valuable assets and valuable people away from the facilities before the strikes came in. that could be one of the reasons why we start to get some casualty numbers we cannot confirm them. but they seem dramatically low. trucks dramatically low do we think this will continue? it's a second round in 24

the message has been deterrence deterring the attacks on houthis. has deterrence failed?if you're going to retaliate the time and place which is is that not an escalation particularly given all the rhetoric with iran? and a question on your recovery. at any point did you feel that your situation cost you possibly resigning given all the political attention that develop as a result of it? >> in terms of resignation, the answer is no. in terms of escalation in the middle east, our goal was to make sure that we contain this crisis in gaza, and that we prevented things from spreading. a lot of activity and region but there's always been a lot of activity in the region. and you know well that iranian proxy groups have been attacking our troops even well before october 7. we can go back and count the numbers of attacks before october seventh, and they are not insignificant. there are things that ongoing now, or thinks not ongoing. we don't see a conflict, all-out conflict between israel and lebanese hezbollah, and so i think mentioned that i think has been artfully done, and so

what is clear is that the houthi _ more can you tell us?ear is that the houthi rebel group - more can you tell us? what is clear| is that the houthi rebel group based in yemen, backed by the iranians, are in no way deterred by western military action by the americans and the british in recent weeks to try and deter these kind of attacks. the houthis have been attacking merchant shipping since november and they have sometimes been successful, sometimes less successful, but clearly in the last 2a hours they have decided to escalate. what we know from the spokesman who has given a statement in recent hours is that they claim that they have now struck two us cargo ships in the gulf of aden, there is reasonable amount of confirmation, it is greek flagged and the greek interior ministry has confirmed an incident took place but they think the vessel is all right, the maritime authorities have also been talking about that and it is an incident that took place east of aden. that is one american ship and the other one we are a little less clear about