Trump Posts Video: 'Houthis' Gather for 'Instructions,' Seconds Later There's Just a Crater Where They Stood
A video shared Friday evening on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform appears to show an airstrike targeting Houthi militants in Yemen, with Trump suggesting the strike eliminated the group.
The 25-second clip, originally posted to his Truth Social account, does not include a specific date. As Fox News pointed out, however, U.S. forces have been actively engaging the Iran-backed Houthis over the past three weeks.
In the grainy black-and-white video, several individuals are seen standing in a circle. At the five-second mark, a sudden explosion occurs — presumably from an aerial strike.
The camera pulls back, revealing a cloud of smoke, before zooming in again to show a large crater and widespread devastation at the site.
As of early Saturday, the footage had not been independently verified. (Viewer discretion is advised.)
“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack,” Trump wrote in the caption. “Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis!
“They will never sink our ships again!” he continued.
No information was provided about the method of the strike — whether it involved a drone, aircraft, or missile — and no specific location was identified in the post.
The video surfaced amid heightened military activity by the Trump administration against the jihadist group, which has disrupted Red Sea shipping routes in recent weeks.
In a recent claim, the Houthis said they were responsible for targeting multiple U.S. naval vessels in the Red Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
“These guys are like al Qaida or ISIS with advanced cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and some of the most sophisticated air defenses, all provided by Iran,” said National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during a March appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“Keeping the sea lanes open, keeping trade and commerce open, is a fundamental aspect of our national security.”
Trump has described the strikes as “unbelievably successful.”
“Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” he posted on Truth Social earlier in the week, according to the New York Post. He also said the Houthis have been “decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks.”
“We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation. The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”
Reports suggest that the continued offensive is having a significant impact.
According to the U.K. Telegraph, just one day before Trump shared the video, a “senior Iranian official” revealed that Tehran was pulling military personnel out of Yemen and scaling back its support for the Houthis.
The official reportedly stated that Iran’s leadership was now focused on “Trump and how to deal with him.”
“Every meeting is dominated by discussions about him, and none of the regional groups we previously supported are being discussed,” the source told the Telegraph.
“The view here is that the Houthis will not be able to survive and are living their final months or even days, so there is no point in keeping them on our list.”
The Houthis have reportedly suffered further losses following the death of Hassan Nasrallah — the Hezbollah leader killed by an Israeli airstrike in September — and the downfall in December of former Syrian ruler Bashar Assad.
“They were part of a chain that relied on Nasrallah and Assad, and keeping only one part of that chain for the future makes no sense,” the Iranian official added, according to the Telegraph.