Trump warns Iran will be held responsible for any further Houthi attacks

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump warned Monday that Iran will be held directly responsible for any additional attacks carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as tensions continue to mount in the Red Sea.

Amid continued tit-for-tat attacks between the US military and the Houthis, Trump said Iran has been directing “every move” taken by the group, and has been providing it with military equipment, financing and intelligence.

“Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there,” Trump said on his proprietary social media website.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” he added.

The president’s comments echo those of his national security advisor, who said Sunday that Iran was responsible for funding and training the Houthis and helping the Yemeni group in its attacks against US warships.

At least 53 people were killed and 98 others injured in US-UK airstrikes on Yemen on Saturday, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry.

The Houthis warned Israel on March 7 to allow humanitarian aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip within four days or face renewed maritime operations against Israeli-linked vessels.

The Houthis have been attacking Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade for what it said was a show of solidarity with Gaza.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. But it threatened to resume the attacks when Israel blocked all aid into Gaza on March 2.