Trump warns Iran it will face ‘consequences’ of further attacks by Houthi rebels
The comments by the US president on his Truth Social website further escalate his administration’s new campaign of air strikes targeting the rebels.
US President Donald Trump has explicitly linked the actions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels to the group’s main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran would “suffer the consequences” for further attacks by the group.
The comments by Mr Trump on his Truth Social website further escalate his administration’s new campaign of air strikes targeting the rebels, which killed at least 53 people this weekend alone and appear poised to continue.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Mr Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel put young boys on air live, who chanted the group’s slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
“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,” said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the demonstration in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa.
The United Nations called for a halt to all military activities in Yemen and the Red Sea, urging “utmost restraint” and warning that “any additional escalation could exacerbate regional tensions”, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs”, Mr Trump warned any attack by the group would be met with “great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there”.
“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Mr Trump alleged in his post.
“They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’”
And in a marked departure from the previous administration, Mr Trump has given US Central Command the authority to launch offensive strikes against the Houthis when it deems it appropriate.
The Biden administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive strikes like the ones over the weekend.
It did allow US forces to launch defensive attacks, including to take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.
Delegating the authority to the regional commander, said Lt Gen Alex Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis”.
He added that it also allows the US to hit a broader array of targets.
The US officials said Mr Trump made the decision last week.
The weekend strikes targeted headquarters positions and drone sites where what the Pentagon identified as “key leaders” for the Houthis’ drone programme were located at the time, said Lt Gen Grynkewich.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that any civilians were killed in the attacks.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said his country would “defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests under international law against any hostile action”.
It is unclear what sparked Mr Trump’s post.
However, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate the Houthis’ actions from those of Tehran this weekend.
The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it continues flight operations in the region.
Iran did not immediately comment on the post.
“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!” Mr Trump added.
The Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza.
The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis’ profile in the wider Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.
The Houthis claimed there had been additional US air strikes overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge them.
