March–May 2025 United States attacks in Yemen

In March 2025, the United States launched a large campaign of air and naval strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Codenamed Operation Rough Rider, it was the first large-scale US military operation in the Middle East during President Donald Trump's second term. The strikes began on March 15, targeting radar systems, air defenses, and ballistic and drone launch sites used by the Houthis to attack commercial ships and naval vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. On 30 April 2025, the United Kingdom joined the United States in conducting strikes on Houthi targets.

The Houthi group began targeting international shipping in October 2023, after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks. Claiming solidarity with Palestinians and aiming to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire and lifting its blockade of Gaza, the Houthis launched missiles and drones at vessels traveling near Yemen, and also fired ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, killing at least one civilian in Tel Aviv. In response, the United States, the United Kingdom, and a multinational coalition began Operation Prosperity Guardian, combining naval escorts with episodic airstrikes on Houthi military and civilian infrastructure.

By mid-March 2025, the Houthis had attacked more than 190 ships, sinking two, seizing another, and killing at least four seafarers. On March 18, Trump warned Iran—longtime backers of the Houthis—that further attacks would be considered acts of aggression, despite no direct involvement.

On May 6, President Donald Trump declared the strikes to be over, "effective immediately," as a result of a ceasefire between the US and the Houthis, brokered by Oman. The Houthis asserted that the ceasefire did not in "any way, shape, or form" preclude attacking Israel, which had just begun bombing Yemen.