{"id":1082,"date":"2025-04-18T23:01:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T23:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1082"},"modified":"2025-04-18T23:01:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T23:01:29","slug":"u-s-strikes-yemens-houthi-run-ras-isa-oil-port-kills-74-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1082","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Strikes Yemen&#8217;s Houthi-Run Ras Isa Oil Port, Kills 74 People"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Washington<\/strong>\u2019s military campaign against <strong>Yemen<\/strong>\u2019s Houthis, a U.S. threat to abandon <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> peace talks, and the <strong>European<\/strong> Central Bank cutting interest rates.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>U.S. Targets Houthi Oil Facilities<\/h3>\n<p>U.S. airstrikes hit Yemen\u2019s Houthi-controlled Ras Isa oil port along the Red Sea late Thursday, killing at least 74 people and injuring 171 others. The incident marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us-military-strikes-yemens-ras-isa-fuel-port-2025-04-17\/\">deadliest-known U.S. attack<\/a> on Houthi rebels since U.S. President Donald Trump accelerated his military campaign against the group on March 15.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Washington<\/strong>\u2019s military campaign against <strong>Yemen<\/strong>\u2019s Houthis, a U.S. threat to abandon <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> peace talks, and the <strong>European<\/strong> Central Bank cutting interest rates.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletters-page newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\">Sign Up<\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>U.S. Targets Houthi Oil Facilities<\/h3>\n<p>U.S. airstrikes hit Yemen\u2019s Houthi-controlled Ras Isa oil port along the Red Sea late Thursday, killing at least 74 people and injuring 171 others. The incident marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us-military-strikes-yemens-ras-isa-fuel-port-2025-04-17\/\">deadliest-known U.S. attack<\/a> on Houthi rebels since U.S. President Donald Trump accelerated his military campaign against the group on March 15.<\/p>\n<p>This was the first time that a U.S. strike targeted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/04\/18\/yemen-us-houthis-oil-port-strikes\/\">oil facilities<\/a> in Yemen since Trump\u2019s latest offensive began; Ras Isa has a storage capacity of 3 million barrels, much of which is used to produce gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum for Houthi militants. Satellite imagery obtained by <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/yemen-us-airstrikes-563f61bbd96e1f2de68373fdf76c8811?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%2C%20Apr%2018%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">The Associated Press<\/a> on Friday appeared to show some of the port\u2019s oil leaking into the Red Sea.<\/p>\n<p>Yemen\u2019s Houthi-led government said on Friday that the U.S. attack constituted a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/clywg335680o\">war crime<\/a>,\u201d claiming that the terminal was a civilian facility. And Iran\u2019s foreign ministry, which supports the militant group, condemned the operation as \u201cbarbaric.\u201d However, U.S. Central Command <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CENTCOM\/status\/1912937032059330962\">maintained<\/a> on X that the assault was necessary to \u201celiminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,\u201d CENTCOM added; it did not acknowledge any casualties or damage from the attack. The Trump administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/accountability-for-material-support-to-houthi-terrorist-activity-and-related-networks\/#:~:text=On%20March%205%2C%202025%2C%20the,first%20promises%20upon%20taking%20office.\">designated<\/a> the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization in March, and on April 9, the U.S. State Department warned that it will \u201cnot tolerate any country or commercial entity\u201d that provides the Houthis with support, including in the form of oil shipments.<\/p>\n<p>The United States\u2019 offensive has not stopped the Houthis from <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/18\/trump-houthi-strikes-yemen-israel\/\">continuing their war<\/a> on Israel. Following Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the Yemeni rebel group vowed to target Israel and its allies <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2022\/01\/24\/yemen-houthi-uae-israel-iran-abraham-accords\/\">in solidarity<\/a> with Hamas, another Iranian proxy group. This sparked a slew of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea as well as strikes targeting Israeli territory. Following Thursday\u2019s oil port attack, Israeli officials accused Houthi militants of launching a missile at Israel that triggered siren warnings in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. assault comes just days before Washington is set to hold a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/10\/us-iran-nuclear-talks-trump\/\">second round of negotiations<\/a> with Iran over Tehran\u2019s advancing nuclear program. However, regional experts are not optimistic. \u201cFirst, let\u2019s be clear: There are no great deals, good options, or Hollywood endings when negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue,\u201d Aaron David Miller and Lauren Morganbesser, both at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/17\/trump-iran-united-states-nuclear-talks-diplomacy-witkoff-jcpoa\/\">argued<\/a> in <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u201cIt\u2019s not our war.\u201d <\/strong>The United States may \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/rubio-ukraine-russia-war-trump-a90e3e49c276b75ed2542f2f0422ddd6?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%2C%20Apr%2018%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">move on<\/a>\u201d from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress is made in the coming days, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following a meeting with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/17\/russia-ukraine-war-paris-macron-rubio-witkoff\/\">European and Ukrainian officials<\/a> in Paris. \u201cWe are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not. Because if it\u2019s not, then I think we\u2019re just going to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has worked to negotiate a lasting cease-fire agreement, with the U.S. president holding several <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/24\/us-russia-ukraine-black-sea-cease-fire-signal-hegseth-yemen-atlantic\/\">separate phone calls<\/a> with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/19\/trump-zelensky-call-putin-russia-ukraine-energy-strikes\/\">30-day pause<\/a> on energy infrastructure strikes. Efforts to widen the truce deal, though, have failed.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio\u2019s comments represent a shift in the Trump team\u2019s priorities; prior to taking office, Trump repeatedly claimed that he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war within <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/02\/27\/trump-ukraine-russia-peace-deal\/\">24 hours<\/a>. However, a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/02\/28\/trump-zelensky-white-house-meeting-ukraine-global-reaction\/\">diplomatic missteps<\/a>, Trump\u2019s parroting of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/10\/trump-putin-russia-asset-spy-security-ukraine-europe-war\/\">Kremlin talking points<\/a>, and Washington\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/12\/eu-tariffs-trump-europe-economic-decoupling-america\/\">growing animosity<\/a> toward Europe have since soured the administration\u2019s efforts. And it now appears that the White House wants to place <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/06\/nato-5-percent-defense-spending-trump-russia-ukraine\/\">further responsibility<\/a> for ending the conflict on its NATO allies in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not our war,\u201d Rubio added on Friday. \u201cWe have other priorities to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump declined to put a deadline on reaching a deal but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us-ready-abandon-efforts-broker-russia-ukraine-peace-deal-rubio-says-2025-04-18\/\">said<\/a> he wanted to get it done \u201cquickly.\u201d \u201cIf for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we\u2019re just going to say, \u2018You\u2019re foolish, you\u2019re fools, you\u2019re horrible people,\u2019\u201d Trump said, \u201cand we\u2019re going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won\u2019t have to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Financial woes. <\/strong>The European Central Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/17\/business\/european-central-bank-rates-tariffs-trump.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20250418&amp;instance_id=152845&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=196268&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">cut interest rates<\/a> by a quarter point on Thursday in an effort to grapple with Trump\u2019s sweeping tariffs on the European Union. This was the bloc\u2019s seventh consecutive decrease since June, as the EU aims to address high costs of living and stock market turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, Trump has issued steep duties on European <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/27\/trump-auto-tariffs-cars-trade-war-reciprocal-china-canada-eu-mexico\/\">auto imports<\/a> as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/12\/trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs-trade\/\">steel and aluminum<\/a>; U.S. \u201creciprocal tariffs\u201d have been set at 10 percent while the White House uses a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/09\/trump-reciprocal-tariffs-pause-90-days-china-125-percent-bessent-greer\/\">90-day pause<\/a> on even higher tariffs to negotiate new trade deals. On Thursday, Trump met with Italian Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/16\/italy-giorgia-meloni-trump-reciprocal-tariffs-eu-uk-supreme-court-transgender-women\/\">Giorgia Meloni<\/a> to begin talks to reduce the EU\u2019s trade surplus, and on Friday, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/04\/17\/pope-francis-vance-rome-vatican\/\">continued those negotiations<\/a> in Rome.<\/p>\n<p>But economists still worry that the financial fallout could be severe. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/global-economy-tariffs-imf-d15febaaaab65c7df8538cce170231eb?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%2C%20Apr%2018%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">warned<\/a> on Thursday that surging U.S. tariffs will weaken the global economy, slow international growth, and increase inflation. However, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva added that sweeping duties will likely not cause a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/03\/trump-tariffs-economic-war-depression-1930s\/\">worldwide recession<\/a>, as previously feared.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abrego Garcia\u2019s status. <\/strong>Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met on Thursday with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a U.S. resident whom the Trump administration admitted it wrongfully deported to El Salvador last month but has since refused to help bring back. Van Hollen, a Democrat, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/17\/us\/politics\/senator-chris-van-hollen-el-salvador-prison.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20250418&amp;instance_id=152845&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=196268&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">initially denied entry<\/a> to San Salvador\u2019s Terrorism Confinement Center before being allowed to meet Abrego Garcia outside of the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/20\/trump-deportations-el-salvador-prisons-bukele-human-rights\/\">mega-prison<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur purpose today was very straightforward,\u201d Van Hollen said on Thursday. \u201cIt was simply to be able to go see if Kilmar Abrego Garcia is doing OK. I mean, nobody has heard anything about his condition since he was illegally abducted from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/24pdf\/24a931_2c83.pdf\">ruled<\/a> that the Trump administration must \u201cfacilitate\u201d Abrego Garcia\u2019s return. And on Thursday, a U.S. appellate court <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ca4.178400\/gov.uscourts.ca4.178400.8.0.pdf\">condemned<\/a> the White House for \u201casserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, both Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/14\/trump-bukele-deportation-flights-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-cecot-mega-prison\/\">pushed back<\/a> against any efforts to return Abrego Garcia to his home in Maryland. \u201cNow that he\u2019s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador\u2019s custody,\u201d Bukele <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nayibbukele\/status\/1913035243918864742\">wrote<\/a> on X after Van Hollen\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What in the World?<\/h3>\n<p>Gabon\u2019s military coup leader won a presidential election on Saturday with more than 90 percent of the vote. When was the last election held in Gabon?<\/p>\n<p>A. 2023<br \/>B. 2016<br \/>C. 2004<br \/>D. 1998<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n<p>Four smugglers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/amp\/news\/kenya-ant-smuggling-illegal-wildlife-trafficking-shift-in-trend\/\">appeared<\/a> before a court in Kenya on Tuesday who were trying to transport thousands of live ants out of Kenya to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia. Two of the suspects, both 19-year-olds from Belgium, told the magistrate that they were collecting the insects for fun and did not know that their actions were illegal. All four individuals, including one from Kenya and one from Vietnam, have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/kenyan-agents-bust-plot-smuggle-giant-ants-sale-foreign-insect-lovers-2025-04-15\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=041625&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">pleaded guilty<\/a> to illegal possession and trafficking of live wildlife. \u201cWe did not come here to break any laws,\u201d one of the Belgian smugglers said. But \u201cby accident and stupidity, we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/h3>\n<p>A. 2023<\/p>\n<p>Brice Oligui Nguema\u2019s landslide victory is unlikely to bring about significant change due to his connections to Gabon\u2019s recently deposed ruling family, FP\u2019s Nosmot Gbadamosi <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/16\/gabon-presidential-election-coup-leader-nguema\/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">reports<\/a> in Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/18\/foreign-policy-news-quiz-ecuador-gabon-election-china-trade-us-tech-maldives-travel-ban\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/18\/yemen-houthi-ras-isa-port-us-airstrikes-oil-military\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Washington\u2019s military campaign against Yemen\u2019s Houthis, a U.S. threat to abandon Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and the European Central Bank cutting interest rates. U.S. Targets Houthi Oil Facilities U.S. airstrikes hit Yemen\u2019s Houthi-controlled Ras Isa oil port along the Red Sea late Thursday, killing at least 74 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}