U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly linked the actions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels to the group’s fundamental benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran it might “suffer the implications” for further attacks by the group.
The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his administration’s recent campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels, which killed at the least 53 people this weekend alone. U.S. officials said the strikes were carried out against greater than 40 targets and more airstrikes were planned in the approaching days. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to debate details of military operations.
Meanwhile, the Iranians proceed to weigh methods to reply to a letter Trump sent them last week attempting to jump-start negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Houthi supporters rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there. The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel put young boys on air live, who chanted the group’s slogan: “God is the best; 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’re men who fear nobody 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,” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.
Trump links Iran to the Houthis
Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned any attack by the group can be met with “great force, and there is no such thing as a 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,” 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.’”
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And in a marked departure from the previous administration, Trump has given U.S. 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 just like the ones over the weekend. It did allow U.S. forces to launch defensive attacks, including to take out weapons that gave the impression to be ready to fireside.
Delegating the authority to the regional commander, said Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “allows us to realize a tempo of operations where we will react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield with a view to proceed to place pressure on the Houthis.” He added that it also allows the U.S. to hit a broader array of targets.
The U.S. officials said Trump made the choice last week.
The weekend strikes targeted headquarters positions and drone sites where what the Pentagon identified as “key leaders” for the Houthis’ drone program were positioned on the time, said Grynkewich.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that any civilians were killed within the attacks.
Iran warns US about ‘reckless’ words
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations delivered a powerful rebuke Monday to Trump’s recent rhetoric concerning the Islamic Republic, saying Trump and U.S. officials are making “reckless and provocative statements” and threatened to retaliate if those words turn to actions.
In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said his country would “defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests under international law against any hostile motion.”
It’s unclear what sparked Trump’s post. Nevertheless, the top 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 united statesHarry S. Truman aircraft carrier within the Red Sea, though none reached the ship because it continues flight operations within the region.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will probably be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will probably be held responsible, and suffer the implications, and people consequences will probably be dire!” Trump added.
The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing 4 sailors, from November 2023 until January this yr when a ceasefire began in Gaza. The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis’ profile in the broader Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid staff.
The Houthis claimed there had been additional U.S. airstrikes overnight, though American officials didn’t immediately acknowledge them.
World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis
In Saada province, the Houthis’ stronghold, the rebels raided a warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen’s exiled government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from the power without the WFP’s permission within the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the Houthis’ actions to The Associated Press.
“WFP regrets the de facto authorities’ decision to seize a number of the commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for probably the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”
Yemen, at war for the reason that Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been on the precipice of famine for years. However the U.N. in February suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following the detentions of dozens of U.N. staff and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced one in all its staffers died while imprisoned by the Houthis.
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp in Washington, and Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri on the United Nations contributed to this report.
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