President Donald Trump has threatened to hold Iran responsible for attacks committed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in escalating his pressure campaign against Tehran’s government.
The Republican leader issued a warning to his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, signing the post in his name.
“Let’s not be fooled by anyone! Houthi, a sinister Yemen-based gang and thug who are hated by the people of Yemen, all originated and created from Iran,” Trump wrote.
“Further attacks and retaliation by “Houthis” will be filled with great force, and there is no guarantee that the power will cease there. ”
Houthis is leading a series of attacks on Israeli ships and other commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest of Israeli war in Gaza and the blockade of humanitarian supplies to Palestinian territory.
Experts widely acknowledge that Iran helps arm the Houssis, which is considered part of the informal “axis of resistance” backed by Iran.
Trump had previously called on Iran to end his support for the Houtis, but his remarks on Monday show a significant escalation that suggests potential military action against Iran itself.
“All shots fired by Houthis are considered from this point onwards as shots fired from Iran’s weapons and leadership, and Iran is responsible, suffering from consequences, and those consequences are disastrous!” Trump wrote in his post.
Comments reach diplomatically sensitive times for Trump and his counterparts in Iran.
Trump has pushed Iran to denuclearize. In 2018, during his first term at the White House, the president withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Earlier this month, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that the US could respond “military” if it fails to reach a nuclear deal.
However, Khamenei rejected Trump’s attempts to negotiate, dismissing him as “bullying,” pointing to the fact that Trump had abandoned the previous agreement.
Iran consistently states that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and has rejected the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
At the same time, Trump intensified US attacks on Houthis after last week warned last week that armed groups would attempt to ban Israeli ships from nearby waterways.
“Israeli vessels attempting to violate this ban will be subject to military targeting in declared operational areas,” Houthis said in a statement.
Rebels have shown that the ban arising from the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza has prevented humanitarian supplies from entering war-torn territory since March 2.
But Israel is a longtime US ally, and Trump responded to the Houches threat on Saturday.
“Today, I ordered the US troops to launch a decisive and powerful military action against the Hooti terrorists in Yemen,” Trump wrote over the weekend, leading to a 24-hour heavy bombing in Yemen.
From Saturday to Sunday, the US carried out an estimated 47 air strikes, struck seven Yemeni provinces and killed an estimated 53 people. Sanaa’s Yemeni capital, managed by Houthis, was one of the affected areas.
When announcing the weekend attack, Trump warned Iran about his support for the Houtis.
“To Iran: Houthi’s support for terrorists must end soon! Americans who have received one of the biggest orders in presidential history, or one of the global shipping lanes, don’t intimidate their president,” he writes.
“If that’s the case, then America will hold you completely accountable, so be careful.
Houthis has attacked almost 100 ships in the region since November 2023, sinking two people, and Trump is not the first president to carry out an attack on Houthi’s target.
Trump’s predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden, has similarly ordered multiple rounds of attacks on Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas.
However, Biden and his administration described an attack designed to disrupt Houthis’ military capabilities, and they firmly denied calling for an escalation of violence. “We don’t want to see local wars,” Pentagon spokesman Sabrina Singh said in 2024.
But Trump dismissed Biden’s efforts against the Houches as “patheticly weak.” He and Biden were rivals in the 2020 presidential election when Trump lost.
Meanwhile, Houthis has pledged to respond to Trump’s attacks. “We stand up to escalation and escalation,” their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Sunday.
Already, the group claims to have committed a retaliatory strike against the US Navy ship.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense informed that attacks from the Houches would not be tolerated.
“Shooting the US troops will have consequences,” spokesman Sean Parnell said, promoting Trump’s “peace by force” stance. “Use overwhelming lethal force until you achieve your goal.”
But Parnell quickly designated that despite the new threats in the US, Trump also did not seek war. “This is not an endless attack either. It’s not about a change of government in the Middle East. It’s about putting American interests first.”
Colin Clark, director of research at the consulting firm Soo Fan Group, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s increasingly heated rhetoric appears to be against some of his campaign trail rhetoric.
When running for a second term in 2024, Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East and withdraw the United States from foreign wars.
“Look, Trump spoke endlessly about his withdrawal from the Middle East. He doesn’t want to be caught up in a foreign war,” Clark said. “So it’s interesting that he is escalating with these movement strikes. It’s really a direct signal to Tehran’s leadership.”
Clark may be a way for Trump to force Iran to talks about nuclear matters, Clark added.
“Trump hopes to attract the attention of Ayatollahs with this and hopes to use these strikes and potentially more in the coming days and weeks to bring Iranians closer to the table.”
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