The US 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.
On Monday, Trump issued the warning on his social media platform Truth Social, 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.
Western Military experts believe 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 hinted 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.
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.
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 However, Khamenei 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.
From Saturday to Sunday, the US conducted an estimated 47 aerial strikes, hitting seven Yemeni provinces and killing an estimated 53 people. The Yemeni capital of Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis, was among the areas affected.
In announcing the weekend attacks, Trump also warned Iran about its backing for the Houthis.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes,” he wrote.
“If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
