The United States has attacked the Houthis. “Today, I have ordered the United States military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” President Donald Trump posted on social media on March 15. “The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. … To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today.”

Since 2023, the Houthis, a proxy group of Iran, have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea. In January, the Houthis slowed their attacks due to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. But as the agreement broke down and Israel blocked foreign aid to Gaza, the group announced on March 11 that it would renew such attacks, which are principally directed against Israel and its allies and have affected American and European shipping. Many ships have rerouted around the continent of Africa rather than risk Houthi strikes.

The March 15 bombings of air defense and drone installations were carried out by the uss Harry S. Truman carrier strike group and struck targets in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, as well as Sa’ada, the city where the Houthi insurgency began. Houthi health officials claimed 31 civilians were killed and 101 were injured.

On March 17, the Houthis claimed to have retaliated against the carrier group twice. The U.S. claims to have intercepted the majority of projectiles, with one landing in the water without incident. Later that day, the U.S. struck targets in al-Hudaydah and al-Jaouf governates. The Houthis claim 53 were killed and 98 were wounded.

“This isn’t a one-night thing,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News. “This will continue until you say, ‘We’re done shooting at ships. We’re done shooting at assets.’ We don’t want a long, limited war in the Middle East. We don’t care what happens in the Yemeni civil war. This is about stopping the shooting at assets in that critical waterway, to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States. And Iran has been enabling the Houthis for far too long; they’d better back off.”

President Trump also singled out Iran. “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end immediately!” he wrote. “Do not threaten the American people, their president, who has received one of the largest mandates in presidential history, or worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, beware, because America will hold you fully accountable and we won’t be nice about it!”

A Helper for Israel?

Israel has been mostly successful in its war against Iran’s proxies. Hezbollah has been decapitated. Hamas, while still standing, does not pose the same threat it did to Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Houthis, in contrast, have in large part stayed strong. Yemen is on the other side of the Middle East from Israel, so Israel’s military hasn’t focused on Yemen as it has with groups closer to home. The U.S., European Union and other actors have missions in the Red Sea but have failed to deter the Houthis.

The Houthis have vowed to escalate as long as the U.S. retaliates. But it’s unknown how long the Houthis expect to be standing against the world’s most powerful military. The American bombing campaign could pressure the Houthis to stand down. This would make the Red Sea safe and navigable for Western shipping again and would end the blockade on Israel’s southern port of Eilat.

Despite Joe Biden making a handful of strikes against the Houthis, they have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for over a year without backing down. They evidently weren’t afraid of the Biden administration. But the current presidential administration is adopting a much more hawkish approach. The Houthis, one of Iran’s most effective proxies against Israel, may soon back down.

Prophecy

The Trumpet, following the precedent set by our predecessor, the Plain Truth, analyzes world events through the lens of Bible prophecy. A passage in 2 Kings 14 is especially relevant to modern America. “For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash” (verses 26-27).

As Plain Truth editor in chief Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy (request your free copy), prophecies about Israel include the U.S. The books of Kings record history, but they also contain prophecy for our day. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry elaborates in his book America Under Attack:

The Bible shows that anciently, God raised up the kingdom of Israel to represent Him. Satan attacked that nation in every way he could. History shows that at one point in the ninth century b.c., an enemy almost completely destroyed it—but God intervened. How? He raised up a human king to temporarily save the nation. …

This prophetic history is especially relevant today. Remember the prophetic principle of duality. History is repeating itself.

Prophetically, the name of Israel that is in danger of being blotted out rests on the modern nations descended from ancient Israel, especially America and Britain.

Mr. Flurry identifies the modern “bitter affliction” as the curse of anti-American, radical-leftist leadership that has been entrenched in Washington for years. He identifies the modern parallel to King Jeroboam ii as Donald Trump. Because of this, Mr. Flurry stated that Mr. Trump would return to the White House even after the 2020 presidential election. This has been fulfilled.

But the prophecy doesn’t concern only America.

Verse 28 continues the prophecy: “Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” Mr. Flurry writes:

When Barack Obama was president, he was terribly unmerciful to the Jewish nation of Israel. But in President Trump’s first term, he saved the Jewish nation of Israel (biblical Judah) from much of Obama’s tyranny. … From the time of Joe Biden’s inauguration, I predicted that we would have more Palestinian terrorist attacks because of the change in leadership. That is exactly what began to happen. Anybody should be able to recognize why! …

It appears Mr. Trump may have to recover some of Judah’s freedom ….

What we are seeing with the Houthis may be President Trump recovering some of that freedom. Time will tell. But however the events in the Red Sea play out, they will have pivotal importance for the region and the world.

To learn more, request a free copy of America Under Attack.