U.S. defense officials have rejected claims that Yemen’s Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis, succeeded in striking—and damaging—an American aircraft carrier in the Red Sea last week.
“There is no truth to the Houthi claim of striking the USS Eisenhower or any U.S. Navy vessel,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement carried by media outlets on June 5.
Last week, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that the group had fired missiles and drones at the aircraft carrier, which has been deployed in the Red Sea since late last year.
At the time, a U.S. defense official told Reuters that he was unaware of any attack on the USS Eisenhower.
Nevertheless, on May 31, CENTCOM reported that the Yemen-based group had fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) over the Gulf of Aden and four drones over the Red Sea.
CENTCOM stated that the missiles failed to cause damage or casualties, noting that U.S. forces downed three drones while a fourth crashed into the sea.
But a day later, Mr. Saree repeated the claim, saying the group had successfully targeted the Eisenhower with “missiles and drones.”
CENTCOM, in its June 5 statement, said the claims were part of an “ongoing disinformation campaign that the Houthis have been conducting for months.”
The Epoch Times’ request for comment on the issue drew a terse reply from a Defense Department spokesperson, whose emailed response said “100 percent false.”
US and British Strikes
According to Mr. Saree, the group’s alleged attack on the aircraft carrier was a response to U.S. and British strikes on May 30.In a statement issued soon afterward, CENTCOM stated that the operations had hit 13 targets in Houthi-controlled parts of the country along the Red Sea coast.
According to the UK Defense Ministry, the allies targeted three sites in the port of Hodeidah, where it said Houthis had kept drones and surface-to-air missiles.
“Utmost care was taken in planning the strikes to minimize any risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Houthis later claimed that the strikes had killed 16 people—including civilians—and injured dozens more.
Iran, which is closely aligned with the Houthis, condemned the strikes as a “violation of international law and Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Since January, U.S. and British naval forces have carried out sporadic strikes on Houthi targets in response to the group’s repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping.
According to the Houthis, the attacks—which began in November 2023—are a legitimate response to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Repeated Houthi attacks in and around the Red Sea have severely disrupted regional maritime traffic and taken a toll on international commerce.
In January, the Pentagon announced the launch of “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” a multi-nation coalition tasked with protecting Red Sea shipping.
Backed by Iran, the Houthis overran much of Yemen—including the capital, Sanaa—in 2014.
Earlier this year, the State Department labeled the Houthis a “specially designated global terrorist group.”
‘Malign, Reckless Behavior’
On June 4, Christos Stylianides, Greece’s minister of maritime affairs, said the Houthi attacks on regional shipping had dwindled in recent days.“During the past week, we have seen a notable reduction in the number and intensity of attacks,” he told Reuters.
“This is more proof that the international community can, with decisiveness, stop this.”
A longstanding NATO member, Greece currently hosts the headquarters of the European Union’s naval operations in the Red Sea.
But on the same day that Mr. Stylianides made the remarks, CENTCOM reported that the Houthis had fired two ASBMs into the Red Sea “in the past 24 hours.”
“There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships,” CENTCOM said in a June 4 statement.
“Continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
Based at Florida’s MacDill Airforce Base, CENTCOM’s area of responsibility includes the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia.
