UNITED STATES President Donald Trump threatened Yemen’s Houthi-led government on Wednesday that they would be “completely annihilated” as US bombers pounded locations under their control.

Strikes hit Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, as well as the Houthi stronghold of Saada in the country’s north-west on Wednesday night, the al-Maisrah satellite news channel reported. 

It aired footage showing firefighters battling a blaze in Sanaa and damage at what it described as a sheep farm in al-Jawf.

It also said strikes happened overnight on Tuesday, though the US military has not offered a breakdown of places targeted since the bombing campaign began. 

The first strikes this weekend killed at least 53 people – including children — and wounded others.

As the strikes hit, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that “tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians.

“Watch how it will get progressively worse – it’s not even a fair fight, and never will be.”

Mr Trump added: “They will be completely annihilated!”

President Trump has also warned Iran not to arm the Houthis, claiming that Tehran “has lessened its intensity on military equipment and general support” to the group.

“Iran must stop the sending of these supplies immediately,” he wrote.

Iran has long been accused of arming the Yemeni organisation, aligned with Islam’s minority Shi’ite Zaydi sect which ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962. 

Tehran routinely denies arming the rebels, despite seized weaponry being assessed as originating there.

Iran’s IRNA news agency acknowledged President Trump’s comments and cited remarks previously made by Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, that said the US president was making “baseless accusations.”

Yemen attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, between November 2023 and January this year, when a ceasefire began in Gaza. 

The campaign greatly raised the profile of Yemen in the wider Arab world and muted public criticism of their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.

Meanwhile, today the Saba news agency acknowledged the Yemenis had been taking food aid out of a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse without permission. 

It said it took about 20 per cent of the aid to hand out.

The UN suspended its operations in Saada in February over security concerns following the detentions of dozens of UN workers and others. 

One WFP staff member died while imprisoned.