Biden’s delay in unleashing retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed militants ‘is down to bad weather’ with US forces preferring to strike when skies are clearer across Middle East

President Biden held back planned retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels due to “bad weather”, with a military source saying commanders prefer to strike under clear circumstances to avoid civilian casualties.

The president has signed off on the strikes, meaning it is a matter of when, not if, the US will strike back in the wake of the killing of three soldiers in Jordan last week by a Houthi drone.

A military source told CBS News that CENTCOM forces in the Middle East would prefer to wait until conditions in the region improve before launching the counteroffensive.

Weather forecasts for the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa call for sunshine and clear skies throughout the weekend of February 2.

While the threat of retaliation for Sunday’s deaths has prompted some militant groups to say they are suspending hostilities, Yemen’s Houthi rebels still attacked ships on Thursday and fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters man a machine gun mounted on a vehicle as they take part in a parade in solidarity with Palestinians and denounce US-led airstrikes on Yemen

“At this point it’s time to take away even more capacity than we have in the past,” Austin said Thursday during his first news conference since being hospitalized Jan. 1 due to complications from prostate cancer treatment.

Previous U.S. attacks have not deterred attacks. Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Iranian-backed militant groups have hit U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria at least 166 times with missiles, rockets and drones in one-way attacks. facilities in both countries.

The US military has also carried out airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The US has blamed the attack on Tower 22 in Jordan on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias that also includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.

Although Iran has denied its involvement, Austin said Thursday that “how much Iran did or did not know, we don’t know.” But that doesn’t really matter, because Iran sponsors these groups.’

Austin said, “Without that facilitation, things like this don’t happen.” He said the Pentagon is still investigating the forensics of the drone that struck Tower 22, a secret base in northeastern Jordan that has been crucial to the U.S. presence in neighboring Syria.

‘I don’t think the opponents have a ‘one and done’ mentality. And so they have a lot of options. I have a lot more,” Austin said. “We’re going to do what it takes to protect our troops.”

In the Red Sea, the Houthis have shot commercial and military ships nearly 40 times since November. In the latest attack, they fired a ballistic missile Thursday at the M/V Koi, a Liberian-flagged container ship, U.S. Central Command said. The ship’s management was not immediately available for comment. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks at a news conference at the Pentagon for the first time since his recent hospitalization for a prostate cancer diagnosis

While the threat of retaliation for Sunday’s deaths has prompted some militant groups to say they are suspending hostilities, Yemen’s Houthi rebels continued to attack ships on Thursday.

The attack took place west of Hodeida, a long-rebel-held port city in Yemen, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military group that monitors waterways in the Middle East.

Also Thursday, the Central Command said it had destroyed two more drones fired by Houthi. One overhead drone, fired at 5 a.m. in Yemen, was shot down in the Gulf of Aden.

A few hours later, an unmanned surface vehicle, a drone that travels through water, was “determined to pose an imminent threat” and was struck in the Red Sea in self-defense, the Central Command said.

The Houthis say they are attacking ships because of the Israeli offensive in Gaza against Hamas.

But they have often targeted ships with weak or no apparent ties to Israel, endangering shipping on a key route for global trade between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Houthis hit a commercial ship with a missile on January 26, sparking a fire that burned for hours.

The Pentagon has the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the region, along with at least a half-dozen other major U.S. warships, fighter jets and U.S. Air Force radar planes. The country has already regularly used these resources to carry out attacks and defend ships.

Late Wednesday, US F/A-18 fighter jets attacked and destroyed 10 Houthi drones that were ready to launch, as well as a ground control station used by the rebels, the US military said.

The US also intercepted a ballistic missile and other drones that were already in the air during the day.