The US Treasury Department called the operation in Yemen the beginning of "maximum pressure" on Iran.

The military operation launched by the United States against the Houthis in Yemen is only the beginning of President Donald Trump's strategy to exert maximum pressure on Iran. This was announced on March 16 by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.

Bessent noted that the signal sent by Washington is very strong and radically different from the policy pursued by the previous White House administration led by former President Joe Biden.

"The Houthis and Iran should understand that this is just the beginning. We will not allow freedom of navigation to be blocked, which slows down global trade and increases inflationary pressures. Two weeks ago, Trump announced a strategy of "maximum pressure" on Iran, which aims to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero," he told NBC News.

On March 15, US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the US military to begin operations against the Yemeni Houthis. He noted that the decision is due to the fact that the Houthis are waging an "ongoing campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism" directed against American ships and ships of other countries, as well as aircraft and drones. Soon, the central command of the US Armed Forces announced the start of a large-scale operation in Yemen. The Houthis from the Ansar Allah movement, in turn, stressed that the American airstrikes would not go unanswered.

The Axios portal, citing an American official, noted that Trump instructed the US Department of Defense to develop an operation plan against the Houthis shortly after his inauguration. Al Masirah TV channel reported on March 16 that as a result of an airstrike carried out by the US army on a power plant located in Dhayan in the province of Saada in northern Yemen, electricity was cut off in the city and surrounding areas. At the same time, it was reported that the death toll from US strikes in Yemen had increased to 13 people.