U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that Iran will be held directly accountable for any further attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as tensions escalate in the Red Sea.
Amid ongoing clashes between the U.S. military and the Houthis, Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the rebels’ actions, claiming Tehran supplies them with weapons, funding and intelligence.
“Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by the Houthis, 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 force will stop there,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as 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 adviser, who said Sunday that Iran was responsible for funding and training the Houthis and assisting in attacks against U.S. warships.
At least 53 people were killed and 98 others injured in U.S.-U.K. 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 group has been attacking Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade in what it says is a show of solidarity with Gaza.
The Houthis halted attacks when a Gaza cease-fire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas but threatened to resume them when Israel blocked all aid into Gaza on March 2.
