JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Much of what we now know about the U.S. bombing plans for Yemen came from a discussion in a chat group, and questions are still being raised as to why. But we've heard a lot less about how that campaign in Yemen is going or why the U.S. is bombing it at all. For more context, we are joined in studio by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Hi there.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: So Greg, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen have been ongoing for almost three weeks at this point. We haven't heard much. Tell us where it stands.
MYRE: So the bombing campaign began March 15. Most every day since then, the U.S. is hitting multiple Houthi targets with dozens of bombs. The U.S. targets places where the Houthis launch missiles, places where they store weapons and is going after Houthi leaders. Now, President Trump says the U.S. will end these Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, which have disrupted global trade for more than a year. And there's a strong sense this is also a warning to Iran, which supports the Houthis.
But this is a significant military operation, and the information is very scarce. Trump said this week on social media that, quote, "we hit them day and night - harder and harder." The White House said this week that the overall number of U.S. strikes has topped 200, but we haven't heard details. Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth hasn't made any substantive comments since the text messages were made public from that Signal chat on the day the bombing started, March 15.
SUMMERS: OK, so that is what we are hearing from the Trump administration. What about from the Houthis?
MYRE: Well, the Houthis said just today they downed a second U.S. Reaper drone this week, and they say they've downed 17 over the past year or so. These are $30 million drones. And the Houthis say their fire is directed at the USS Harry S. Truman, the aircraft carrier group that's launching the U.S. strikes. Juana, it's really no exaggeration to say we're getting more information from the Houthis than the Pentagon.
I spoke with Gregory Johnsen at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He says this U.S. bombing campaign is much more intense than the one carried out last year under President Biden. However, he says, the Houthis have proved very resilient.
GREGORY JOHNSEN: The Houthis have been fighting for nearly two decades. I think there's a significant chance that as long as the Houthis remain in power in northern Yemen, they will possess both the desire as well as the capacity to target commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
SUMMERS: So Greg, how does this U.S. operation against the Houthis fit in with President Trump's larger ambitions in the Middle East?
MYRE: Yeah, this really seems part of the bigger picture, and we've had a couple key developments in the past few days. First, the U.S. is sending another aircraft carrier group to the region. And second, the U.S. has moved six B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a small island in the Indian Ocean. Now, it's highly unusual to concentrate this many B-2s in one place. They carry some of the most powerful U.S. bombs and could be used against the Houthis. But military analysts say this is a massive amount of firepower, and the larger intent seems to be sending a clear warning to Iran. Michael Knights is with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
MICHAEL KNIGHTS: If you're trying to follow a peace-through-strength agenda, you know, nothing says strength like two aircraft carrier groups and most of our deployable B-2 stealth bombers. The Trump team would probably feel that there was a synergy in what they were doing against the Houthis and what they're threatening to do to Iran.
SUMMERS: And, Greg, about Iran, can you tell us how the Trump administration is approaching Iran so far?
MYRE: Well, Trump says he's open to a nuclear agreement with Iran. And remember, Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal during his first term, but Iran's nuclear program has just become more advanced since then. So these recent U.S. military moves may be a way to persuade Iran into negotiations and concessions, but they could also lead to military escalation. One other point - Trump says his first foreign trip in this term will be to Saudi Arabia next month. That trip should give us a better sense of what he's planning for the region.
SUMMERS: NPR's Greg Myre, thank you so much.
MYRE: Sure thing, Juana.
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