Yemen: At the outset of 2025, Yemen inaugurated a new phase of confrontation by downing a US MQ-9 drone, marking the fourteenth such aircraft intercepted by Yemeni Air Defenses. The number later rose to 22, amid what Yemeni sources described as the direct involvement of US President Donald Trump in renewed aggression.

The developments came within the framework of Yemen’s ongoing support operations for Gaza, which thwarted repeated attempts to separate the fronts. These efforts peaked with Trump’s entry into the confrontation on March 15, adopting a high-profile and confrontational tone toward Yemen in an apparent bid to secure a rapid military gain—both to offset the failure of his predecessor Joe Biden and to curry favor with the Zionist entity by lifting restrictions on its maritime navigation and shielding it from Yemeni missile and drone strikes.

Trump bet on opening his new term with a swift “military achievement,” but his calculations ran into contrary battlefield realities. Yemen simultaneously confronted two US aircraft carriers and some of the world’s most advanced stealth bombers, while escalating operations along three parallel tracks: direct support for Gaza through strikes deep inside the Zionist entity, targeting US involvement in the Arabian Sea by pursuing the carrier USS Carl Vinson, and operations in the Red Sea against the carrier USS Harry Truman.

In the course of these confrontations, the US lost two advanced F-18 fighter jets, one of which went down during evasive maneuvers following a qualitative Yemeni strike. Despite deploying stealth bombers, Washington failed to break Yemen’s stance, while Trump’s rhetoric softened as MQ-9 drones continued to be shot down. Yemeni Air Defenses also came close to downing an F-35 stealth aircraft.

After 52 days of aggression, Trump announced what he described as a low-cost exit, attempting to claim victory. However, subsequent Yemeni naval operations—targeting and sinking vessels that violated the declared maritime ban—were a witness to exposing the falsity of the US narrative, asserting that the American withdrawal was not the result of “appeasement or surrender,” but rather a clear and unmistakable defeat.

With Washington failing to separate Yemen from Gaza, the outcome instead isolated the Zionist entity, pushing the confrontation into a more direct phase between Yemen and the Israeli enemy.

The Zionist entity sought to influence Yemeni support operations by expanding its bombardment to residential areas and civilian and economic infrastructure. However, these actions did not deter Yemen, which sacrificed senior military and political figures in the course of its declared support for Palestine and Al-Quds, without wavering from its position in support of Gaza.

Yemeni support operations continued until the final moments and remain active and ready to resume should aggression against Gaza or Lebanon resume, alongside continued preparedness to confront any Zionist aggression using a range of means.

While leaders of the temporary entity speak of an “unsettled account” with Yemen, Yemenis insist the next phase will be harsher and more painful, stressing that the deterrence equation imposed during the confrontation will not fade.