President Joe Biden today called the Houthi forces a “terrorist” organization after dozens of airstrikes launched by US and British warplanes, ships and submarines across Yemen overnight.

Joe Biden, in his first public comment since the US strikes in the Arabian Peninsula country, reiterated today that he will “respond” if “the Houthis continue their unacceptable behavior”.

The American president, who was asked by reporters on the sidelines of a trip to Pennsylvania, in the northeastern United States, what message he had for Tehran after the strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, replied: “I have already sent my message in Iran”.

President Joe Biden also said he “believes” that US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen have not caused “civilian casualties”. “I believe there were no civilian casualties, which is also why (the strikes) are successful,” he said in a brief conversation with reporters while visiting a store in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

London and Washington say their airstrikes in Yemen, most of which is controlled by the Houthis, are in retaliation for the movement’s months-long attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels say their attacks are their response to the ongoing war in Gaza.