President Trump directly accused Iran of orchestrating Houthi rebel attacks and warned that Tehran would be held responsible for any future aggression.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a direct warning to Iran, holding it responsible for the actions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels and vowing “dire consequences” if the group continued its attacks. In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump escalated his administration’s military posture, linking Tehran to the Houthis’ recent assaults in the region and describing the rebel faction as “sinister mobsters and thugs.”
Trump’s remarks followed a weekend of intense U.S. airstrikes targeting Houthi positions, which killed at least 53 individuals. The air campaign, which the administration has signaled will continue, aims to counter the Houthis’ ongoing threats to international shipping and regional stability. Meanwhile, Iran has yet to respond publicly to a letter from Trump last week seeking to open negotiations over its advancing nuclear program.
In his post, Trump alleged that Iran was not merely a supporter but the controlling force behind the Houthis. “Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump wrote. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’”
He continued, “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!”
While it was not immediately clear what prompted Trump’s post, his comments followed statements from the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, who sought to distance Tehran from Houthi attacks. However, in the wake of the airstrikes, Houthi supporters staged rallies in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other cities, threatening retaliation against the United States and Israel over the Gaza conflict. During a televised speech at one of the demonstrations, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi declared, “The Yemeni position is an irreversible position [regarding Gaza], so do whatever you [Americans] want, for we are men who fear no one but God.”
Al-Masirah, the Houthis’ satellite channel, aired live footage of children chanting the group’s slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
Amid these developments, the Houthis launched drone and missile attacks aimed at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none of the projectiles struck the vessel, which continued its operations in the area. Iran did not immediately comment on the attempted strike or Trump’s statements.
The Houthi rebels have previously targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones from November 2023 through January 2024, resulting in the sinking of two ships and the deaths of four sailors. This campaign coincided with heightened visibility of the group in the Arab world and reduced scrutiny of its human rights record, including detentions of aid workers and crackdowns on dissent.
Following the latest U.S. strikes, the Houthis claimed there had been further American air attacks overnight, though U.S. officials did not confirm those reports. Additionally, in Saada province, the group reportedly raided a World Food Program warehouse, seizing supplies without authorization. The United Nations later confirmed the incident, stating, “WFP regrets the de facto authorities’ decision to seize some of the commodities. These commodities were intended for the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”
The conflict in Yemen, ongoing since the Houthis’ capture of Sanaa in 2014, has left the country on the brink of famine. In February, the U.N. halted operations in Saada due to security concerns after the detentions of U.N. personnel. Shortly thereafter, the WFP reported the death of one of its staffers in Houthi custody.
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