The White House on Tuesday released a letter President Trump sent to Congress on March 25, stating that he is ordering a bolster of US military forces in the Middle East to protect Israel and US assets in the region.

In the letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, Trump said he was writing to update them on the situation in Yemen and the broader Middle East. The president wrote, "First, I have directed the Department of Defense to deploy additional combat-ready forces to the Middle East to enhance the defensive capabilities available to U.S. forces and facilitate necessary military operations."

He added that the military reinforcements include "Israel's air and missile defense capabilities and sites hosting US forces, as well as fighter, support, and reconnaissance aircraft to enable strikes on Houthi targets." It is noteworthy that earlier this month, the Pentagon reported that the United States had sent a second battery of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel, along with Patriot air defense batteries. The United States has also sent an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, B-52 bombers to Diego Garcia, and other air assets to the region.

Trump also stated in the letter that, at his direction, US Central Command "has begun large-scale strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to eliminate the capabilities they use to launch attacks on US forces and commercial shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waters."

The United States launched its bombing campaign in Yemen on March 15, and more than a month later, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, remain steadfast and continue to launch attacks.

US officials claim that the airstrikes on Yemen are in retaliation for attacks on US ships, but the Houthis halted all operations in the region as soon as a ceasefire went into effect in Gaza on January 19. The US resumed its bombing campaign in Yemen in response to the Houthis' announcement that they would reimpose a blockade on Israeli shipping due to Israel's complete blockade of Gaza, a violation of the ceasefire agreement, but before they had launched any actual attacks. A senior member of the Ansar Allah politburo stated that the Houthis would halt their attacks on US warships if the US stopped bombing Yemen. US officials, including President Trump himself, have claimed that they would halt airstrikes if the Houthis announced they would stop targeting US ships, but there is no indication that the US is considering this offer, as it is effectively bombing Yemen on behalf of Israel.