US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would hold Iran directly accountable for any future attacks by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, who have previously targeted US and other foreign vessels in the Red Sea.
As reported by AFP, “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,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Although the United States has been conducting strikes on Houthi targets for months, President Trump’s remarks were notably direct in holding Iran accountable. Later on Monday, Iran criticized Trump’s comments, calling them “baseless accusations.”
Trump’s statement came after the first U.S. strikes of his new term in Yemen on Saturday, which resulted in 53 deaths and 98 injuries, AFP reported.
Also Read: Donald Trump confirms US airstrikes targeting Houthi terrorists in Yemen, warns Iran to ‘BEWARE’
In response the Houthis claimed two strikes on a US aircraft carrier and rallied thousands at protests in parts of Yemen under their control.
The United States struck the Houthis over their repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels, which have put a major strain on the vital trade route.
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The Houthis have said they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a war with US support.
“Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force,” Trump also said in his post, adding that “Iran has played ‘the innocent victim'” in the conflict.
In response, Iran criticized Trump for making “belligerent statements” and accused him of violating the UN Charter in a letter to the Security Council obtained by AFP.
Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, wrote that Trump and other senior U.S. officials were attempting to “unlawfully justify the U.S. acts of aggression and war crimes against Yemen” with their remarks.
‘Overwhelming lethal force’
On Monday, in the Pentagon’s first formal press briefing of this Trump presidency, officials said US strikes against the Houthis were continuing in order to degrade their ability to plan and conduct attacks, and that Iran was on notice from Trump.
“All options are on the table at this time,” spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters when asked whether the president was considering military action against the Islamic Republic.
He also said the United States will continue to use “overwhelming lethal force” until it achieves its objectives.
“There is a very clear end state to this operation, and that begins the moment that the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk,” Parnell said.
US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich told the briefing more than 30 Houthi targets were hit Saturday, including “terrorist training sites” and weapons manufacturing facilities, AFP reported.
The weekend targets “also included a number of command-and-control centers, including a terrorist compound where we know several senior Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle experts were located,” he added.
“Today, the operation continues, and it will continue in the coming days until we achieve the president’s objectives,” officials stated.
Houthi media reported that new U.S. airstrikes on Monday targeted rebel-controlled Hodeida on Yemen’s western coast.
Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon… as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN.
Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force.
Prior to this weekend’s targeting of the U.S. carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed responsibility for attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire in Gaza began.
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