Iran in Trouble as US Tells Israel US Will Handle Houthis

by Roger Simon

The Houthis--the dominant party by population in civil war riven Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries with starvation rampant (unlike Gaza) and 48% of its population without clean water-- are firing missiles at Israel again. (The Houthis leadership and their families, needless to say, live a quite different life.)

The missiles have been shot down so far this round without causing damage, but this doesn’t seem to deter the Houthis. They keep at it, even though they are just as likely to hit revered Islamic holy sites like the al-Aqsa Mosque as they are anything else.

The Israelis went into shelters but some of the Muslims on the Temple Mount (video) were unclear what to do, others took cover and relied on the IDF to protect them.

Meanwhile, World Israel News reports: “As US officials discuss a potential response to Houthi missile attacks, they are requesting that Israel refrain from striking Yemen.

“The message from the US to Israel is ‘Leave it to us.’

“It is believed that Israel will honor the request of the US.”

No doubt. The report continues: “The US told Israel not to strike Houthi targets in a similar way to past IAF missions, because the US says it can carry out more comprehensive attacks from its aircraft carriers.”

Indeed true. The Harry S. Truman is already in the area with two or three more carriers apparently on the way. The Houthis have already claimed to have attacked the Truman but have offered no evidence. At the same time, video of Houthi controled parts of Yemen like the Sanaa, Saada and Al Hudayduh Governates under heavy bombardment are all over X and other sites. These attacks have been going on for several days with no sign of stopping..

But the reasoning behind the “leave to us” from this US is a lot more than just the presence of aircraft carriers.

Donald Trump has made explicit that he regards the Houthi missiles as coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is the mullahs who will pay if this is not halted.

This is Trump warning the Ayatollah Khamenei, telling him negotiate an end to your nuclear weapons program or we are coming to get you.

Iran, so far, does not know how to handle this and it is probable they are in some degree of panic. They accuse Trump of being a bully (projection?) while shouting they have nothing to do with the Houthis, though it is clear Iran provides their long range missiles, also have financed most of their military escapades that would include interdicting world shipping.

The Houthis got away from with this during the reign of the unlamented Joe Biden who may not have even known what was going on. (We’ve already seen an important instance of this with LNG.) Foreign policy during the Biden years may have been largely in the hands of Antony Blinken whose security clearance Trump just yanked, calling the former Secretary of State a “bad man.” (Very true. Among other things Blinken was responsible for corraling the 51 former intelligence people who lied by signing the document inferring the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. The clearance of the 51 has been handed as well. )

This is not a good time for the theocratic rulers of the Islamic Republic where much of the Iranian citizenry has always despised them. The advent of Trump has put everything up for grabs. In Turkey, “our great NATO ally” the monstrous Erdogan is under more threat than ever as mass demonstrations continue. Syria is a mess with people shooting each other in the streets, The Israelis have finished off Hezbollah and are in the process of doing the same to Hamas, despite the Jewish states’ internal troubles. The idea that has been floated that the Israeli government confiscate a percentage of Gaza land for every hostage killed by Hamas from now on is likely to be adopted and probably should have been long ago. Who can stop them?

As I type this, it is March 20, Narouz, the annual Persian holiday of renewal from the days when that great empire was not Islamic but Zoroastrian, and a friend to the world. The mullahs hate it but they tolerate it because. to suppress it would be to foment revolution. Let us hope and let us pray that by next year at this time the Ayatollah will be gone and it will Narouz all the year around.

https://americanrefugees.substack.com/p/iran-in-trouble-as-us-tells-israel