President Donald Trump of the United States has intensified his pressure campaign against the Tehran government by threatening to hold Iran accountable for any attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The warning was posted on Monday by the Republican leader, who signed the post with his name on his social media account, Truth Social.
“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.”
In retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza and its prohibition of humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian territory, the Houthis have spearheaded a string of attacks against Israeli and other commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Most experts agree that Iran arms the Houthis, who are regarded as a member of an unofficial “axis of resistance” that Iran supports.
Trump has previously urged Iran to stop aiding the Houthis, but his comments on Monday represent a dramatic shift and raise the possibility of 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 remarks come at a sensitive diplomatic moment for Trump and his Iranian counterparts.
Although he withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, during his first term in office, Trump has been pressuring Iran to denuclearize. The JCPOA would have allowed Iran to reduce its nuclear ambitions in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
Trump warned that if a nuclear agreement is not reached, the United States may retaliate “militarily” in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, earlier this month.
Khamenei, however, has rejected Trump’s attempts at negotiation, calling him “bullying” and citing the fact that Trump canceled the prior deal.
Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing a nuclear weapon and stated that its nuclear program is for civilian use.
“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.
The rebels indicated that the prohibition resulted from an Israeli blockade of Gaza that has been in place since March 2 and has prevented the entry of humanitarian aid into the war-torn region.
But Trump also responded to the Houthis’ threats on Saturday with one of his own, and Israel is a longstanding ally of the United States.
“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,”
Over the weekend, Trump wrote, launching a round of heavy bombing in Yemen for twenty-four hours.
The United States carried out an estimated 47 aerial strikes between Saturday and Sunday, striking seven Yemeni provinces and killing an estimated 53 people. Among the places impacted was the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa, Yemen.
Trump also cautioned Iran about its support for the Houthis when he announced the weekend attacks.
“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.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have attacked almost 100 vessels in the area, sinking two of them. Trump is not the first president to attack Houthi targets.
Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump’s predecessor, also issued several orders for attacks on Houthi-held regions of Yemen.
On Monday, the US Department of Defence signalled attacks from the Houthis would not be tolerated.
“ If you shoot at American troops, there will be consequences,” spokesperson Sean Parnell said, touting Trump’s “peace through strength” stance. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”
Despite the new threats from the US, Parnell was quick to clarify that Trump was also not looking for war. Additionally, this is not a never-ending offensive. This has nothing to do with Middle Eastern regime change. This is about prioritizing the interests of Americans.
Trump’s increasingly vehement rhetoric seems to contradict some of his campaign-trail rhetoric, Colin Clarke, director of research for the consulting firm Soufan Group, told Al Jazeera.
In running for a second term in 2024, Trump pledged to bring peace to the Middle East and withdraw the US from foreign wars.
“ Look, Trump has talked endlessly about withdrawing from the Middle East. He doesn’t want to become entangled in foreign wars,” Clarke said. “So it’s interesting that he’s escalating with these kinetic strikes, really as a signal directly to the leadership in Tehran.”
Clarke added that the strikes on the Houthis may be method for Trump to force Iran into nuclear negotiations.
“Trump does hope to get the Ayatollah’s attention with this, and he does hope to use these strikes and potentially more in the coming days and weeks to push the Iranians closer to the table.”
