America paid heavy economic, political costs for attacks on Yemen

On Jun 2, 2025 7:50 PM

SANAA, June 02 (YPA) – “Yemen defeats America,” one of the triumphant messages dozens of activists are circulating on social media outlets, after Ansar Allah officials had asserted victory over the United States, which was force to halt its air campaign in Yemen on May 6, after it had failed to achieve its military objectives.

With the cost of this ill-conceived campaign proving itself, both in terms of American financial expenditure and the extent of precious political capital it has expended in the region.

In a report written by Carrie Springfield for the World Bank website and published on Monday, Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been suffering from stifling economic and humanitarian crises since the outbreak of the war against the Saudi-led, Western-backed coalition nearly ten years.

The report indicated that the Ansarullah movement is returning to the forefront to end the devastating war that Israeli occupation waged on the Gaza Strip, after the famine crises in Gaza and Sudan, along with Yemen, have already been occurred.

The movement launched their military offensive in the beginning of November 2023, specifically targeting ships bound for “Israel”, which pass through the Red Sea from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean via Bab al-Mandab Strait separating Yemen from Djibouti and the Gulf of Aden.

To avoid blockade, the ships were forced to sail around the African continent, which significantly increased shipping costs.

The report indicated that the United States and the United Kingdom entered the conflict in January 2024 by launching bombing campaigns on Yemen. President Joe Biden explained that these actions were a direct response to Yemen’s attacks on Red Sea vessels. The attacks at the Sea were ceased after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hamas and “Israel” in mid-January 2025. The movement, in a good will, also released a cargo crew who had been detained for more than a year.

After the ceasefire agreement between “Israel” and Hamas was collapsed in mid-March, Ansarullah resumed attacks in support of Palestine. Once again, the United States demonstrated its support for “Israel” when President Trump launched Rough Knight operation on March 15, a bombing campaign in Yemen that he hoped would force the movement to halt attacks, which led to killing dozens of civilians, most notably 68 people in late April at a detention center for African migrants in Saada province, northwestern Yemen, in addition to 80 civilians were killed in the another attack on Ras Isa port on April 18.

In a televised speech last April, Yemeni revolutionary leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi emphasized that Sanaa’s position was directed against the Israeli and American enemies.

Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi also affirmed that the movement would continue to confront the Americans who are complicit with the Israeli enemy by supporting, protecting, and joining them in the aggression against Palestine and the people of nation.” Ultimately, according to the report, Washington’s campaign had failed, with several reports confirming the United States’ failure to achieve air superiority over Ansarullah. However, the exorbitant financial cost for minimal gains may be what the United States would regret most.

In closed-door briefings to Congress in early April, Pentagon officials reportedly confirmed that they had exhausted $200 million worth of munitions in just the first three weeks, with adding the costs of deploying personnel and warships, the campaign cost American taxpayers reached more than $1 billion in the first month, congressional officials confirmed, according to The New York Times.

Furthermore, an NBC News report detailed the US bill for bombing Yemen since mid-March, which included hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs, each costing $85,000; at least 75 Tomahawk missiles, each costing about $1.9 million; at least 20 AGM-158 air-to-air cruise missiles, each costing about $1.5 million; and numerous other munitions.

The report added that the Ansarullah inflicted significant financial damage on advanced US military equipment, including the downing of seven MQ-9 drones, each worth approximately $30 million, in addition to an estimated 15 MQ-9s shot down in the previous conflict.

Additionally, the United States also lost two F-18 fighter jets, each worth $67 million, when they crashed off a US aircraft carrier, the most recent loss announced on May 6.

At that point, according to the New York Times, Trump was fed up, so the White House ordered US Central Command on May 5 to stop offensive operations. Trump said of Ansarullah after the bombing stopped, “We hit them hard, and they had a great capacity to take the punishment.” He added, “You could say there’s great courage in them.”