IRIA News

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The United States conducted airstrikes on the Ras Isa oil terminal on Yemen’s western coast, killing at least 74 people and injuring 171 others, according to Houthi-run health authorities.

The terminal, controlled by the Houthi group, was targeted by the U.S. military as part of a broader campaign to disrupt what Washington calls “terrorist revenue streams.”

The attack unfolded late April 17, 2025, and marked the single deadliest known U.S. strike in Yemen since President Donald Trump resumed large-scale military action in response to a surge in Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and missile launches toward Israel.

In a statement released after the strikes, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the destruction of the Ras Isa facility, stating the goal was “to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue.”

The statement added, “The Houthis, their Iranian masters, and those who knowingly aid and abet their terrorist actions should be put on notice that the world will not accept illicit smuggling of fuel and war material to a terrorist organization.”

24…7….#HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/YI8EnrHM0R

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 15, 2025

Since November 2023, the Houthis have struck dozens of ships, sunk two vessels, seized another, and caused the deaths of at least four crew members. The group claims to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Civilian or military target?

The Houthi-led government in northwest Yemen has strongly condemned the strike, describing the Ras Isa terminal as a civilian facility and calling the bombing “a full-fledged war crime.”

“We affirm that the targeting of the Ras Isa oil port is a full-fledged war crime, as the port is a civilian facility and not a military one,” read an official statement. “We hold the US administration fully responsible for the consequences resulting from its escalation in the Red Sea.”

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah television reported that 14 airstrikes hit the area, resulting in massive explosions, fireballs, and widespread destruction of fuel tankers. Footage broadcast by the network and widely circulated online showed charred bodies near the wreckage and scenes of severely burned individuals being treated in overwhelmed local hospitals.

Al-Masirah also claimed that five paramedics were killed in a secondary wave of strikes while trying to reach the site. The full extent of casualties is still being assessed, with Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi stating that rescue teams were continuing to search for survivors and bodies amid the rubble.

The U.S. campaign against the Houthis intensified in late March, following renewed missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Retaliation and rising hostilities

Only hours after the Ras Isa bombing, the Israeli military reported intercepting a missile launched from Yemen. Sirens were heard in several areas across Israel, but no damage or injuries were reported. The interception marked yet another episode in a growing tit-for-tat series of cross-border strikes involving Yemen and Israel.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi responded defiantly, stating that the recent U.S. attacks had not curtailed the group’s military operations. In a televised speech, he claimed the Houthis had conducted nearly 80 operations since mid-March, involving around 170 missiles and drones, including 30 attacks against the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and 26 against Israel.

The United States and its allies deployed warships to the region late last year to deter Houthi aggression, but the naval presence has not stopped the attacks. In response, Trump reinstated the Houthis’ designation as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” a status that the Biden administration had previously rescinded in 2021 due to concerns over exacerbating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

Trump has since promised to escalate pressure on the group. Last month, he warned that the Houthis would be “annihilated” and posted a video purportedly showing a U.S. airstrike on a large gathering of suspected Houthi fighters in Hudaydah province. Houthi officials, however, claimed the video depicted a peaceful Eid gathering and condemned it as another civilian massacre.

Humanitarian crisis in Yemen

The latest attack comes as Yemen continues to suffer from one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The country’s brutal civil war, now in its 10th year, began when the Houthis seized control of much of the northwest, including the capital Sana’a, from the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition, with U.S. backing, intervened in 2015 in a failed attempt to restore the ousted government.

Since then, over 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and the violence has displaced 4.8 million Yemenis. An estimated 19.5 million people, about half of the country’s population, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including food, clean water, and medical care.

Iran, a known supporter of the Houthis, condemned the U.S. attack on Ras Isa as “barbaric.” Tehran has repeatedly denied directly arming the Yemeni group, though U.S. and UN reports have frequently cited evidence of Iranian weapons transfers.

Regional implications

The escalating conflict in Yemen is becoming a critical flashpoint in a wider regional struggle involving the United States, Israel, Iran, and various armed groups.

As the war in Gaza continues to draw in regional actors, from Hezbollah in Lebanon to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, the Houthis have become one of the most visible anti-Israel and anti-U.S. forces in the region.

Despite multiple rounds of U.S. airstrikes, the Houthis appear undeterred. Their continued missile launches and defiant rhetoric suggest that the conflict is far from winding down.

With the latest strikes, the stakes have only grown higher. As the U.S. intensifies its efforts to curb Houthi capabilities, the potential for greater civilian casualties and regional destabilization becomes more likely. And with both sides entrenched, the Red Sea, one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes, remains a zone of volatility with global consequences.