The United States has carried out B-2 stealth bomber strikes on underground Houthi weapons facilities in Yemen for the first time, an escalation that appears in part to be a warning to Houthi supporters in Tehran.

Local television in Houthi-controlled areas of the country reported 15 attacks at five locations near the capital Sanaa and in the northern governorate of Saada, the Houthis' traditional homeland.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement: “U.S. forces have targeted multiple Houthis underground facilities that house various weapons components that the Houthis have used to attack civilian and military vessels throughout the region.”

The attacks were aimed at weakening the Houthis' military capabilities to “defend U.S. forces and personnel in one of the world's most critical waterways,” he said.

Austin added that the deployment of the long-range stealth bomber “demonstrated the U.S.'s global strike capabilities to strike against these targets when needed, at any time,” which was widely seen as a message to Iran amid fears of a regional conflagration , which was triggered by the war in Gaza, “everywhere”.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

“America will pay the price for its aggression against Yemen, and as we have already said, its aggression will not deter Yemen from its stance in support of Gaza,” Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthis' media office, told X .

The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, is a fundamentalist Shiite group allied with Iran and part of Tehran's regional “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States.

For nearly a year, the group has targeted ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea that are believed to be linked to Israel, in what it describes as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinians in the war in Gaza. However, the group has also attacked ships with no connection to Israel. The Houthis have also fired rockets and armed drones into Israel.

The Red Sea shipping canal, which leads to the Suez Canal, is an important route carrying 12% of world trade. The attacks caused serious disruption and led to the US and UK beginning airstrikes on the Houthis in January. In July, Israel also directly attacked northern Yemen in response to a drone strike on Tel Aviv.

The Houthis took control of northern Yemen, where most of the population lives, in 2014. Since then, the group has imposed draconian measures on the people under its rule.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has failed to dislodge the Houthis despite intense bombing and a years-long siege that has led to widespread hunger and disease.

An Israeli airstrike hit the Syrian city of Latakia on Thursday, injuring two civilians, according to Syrian state media. The Israeli military has intensified its attacks on Syria in parallel with the escalation in Lebanon, where it has been heavily bombing Hezbollah bastions for more than three weeks. Israel accuses the Lebanese group, which like the Houthis is supported by Iran, of transporting weapons via Syria.