- ARAB NEWS
- 02 Jun 2025
Since 1975
AL-MUKALLA: The US military has denied the Houthis’ claim that their most recent missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea struck and damaged the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower.
The US-funded Voice of America quoted a US Central Command source on Wednesday as saying that neither the USS Eisenhower nor any other US Navy ship was targeted by the Houthis, accusing the Houthis of employing misinformation propaganda to back up their allegations.
“There is no truth to the Houthi claim of striking the USS Eisenhower or any US Navy vessel. This is an ongoing disinformation campaign that the Houthis have been conducting for months,” the US Central Command told the VOA.
Yemen’s Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for targeting the Eisenhower carrier in the Red Sea twice in less than a week in reaction to US and UK bombings that killed at least 16 people in the Houthi-held Hodeidah, western Yemen, on Thursday.
The Houthis claimed that their missiles and drones “precisely” targeted the US carrier, and they posted photographs of the damaged ship on social media to support their claim.
In a post on X, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi asked that the US military permit journalists to visit the US carrier to disprove their allegations, promising not to target US Navy ships during the visit.
“We asked you to allow a media mission and identify when it will visit the American warships. We pledge not to conduct any bombing operations during the visit,” Al-Houthi said.
At the same time, the US Central Command reported on Tuesday night that the Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea from regions under their control in Yemen in the previous 24 hours, but none of them struck any navy or commercial ships.
Over the last eight months, the Houthis have seized one commercial ship, destroyed another, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial and navy ships in the international sea lanes off Yemen, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
The Houthis claim they exclusively target ships connected or traveling to Israel in order to push Israel to cease its assault in Gaza, and they attacked the US and US ships after the two countries struck Yemen.
