United States President Donald Trump has threatened to hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, in an escalation of his pressure campaign against the government in Tehran, Al Jazeera reported.
The Republican leader issued the warning on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, signing the post with his name.
“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,” Trump wrote.
“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.”
The Houthis have led a series of attacks against Israeli vessels and other commercial ships in the Red Sea, in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza and its blockade of humanitarian supplies into the Palestinian territory, according to Al Jazeera.
Experts widely acknowledge that Iran helps to arm the Houthis, who are considered part of an informal “axis of resistance” backed by Iran.
While Trump has previously pushed Iran to end its support for the Houthis, his remarks on Monday signal a significant escalation — hinting at potential military action against Iran itself.
“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!” Trump wrote in his post.
The comments arrive at a delicate time diplomatically for Trump and his counterparts in Iran.
Trump has been pushing Iran to denuclearise — though in 2018, during his first term in the White House, the president withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a deal that would have seen Iran curtail its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief, Al Jazeera reported.
Earlier this month, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that the US could respond “militarily” if a nuclear deal is not reached.
But Khamenei has rebuffed Trump’s attempts to negotiate, dismissing him as “bullying” and pointing to the fact that Trump scuttled the previous agreement.
Iran has consistently said its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, and it has denied pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Simultaneously, Trump has heightened US attacks on the Houthis, after the armed group warned last week it would seek to ban Israeli ships from nearby waterways.
“Any Israeli vessel attempting to violate this ban will be subject to military targeting in the declared operational area,” the Houthis said in a statement, according to the Doha-based media outlet.