Donald Trump has warned that Iran will be held responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels following an assault on a US warship in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, known as a major proxy terror group for Iran, have asserted that they targeted the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its allied warships twice in less than a day.
The terror group has also announced a ban on all US vessels from passing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, southern Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden.
In what appears to be a futile threat, the leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, stated that his fighters would aim at US military vessels in the Red Sea until the US ceases its offensives in Yemen.
In response, Trump today said that he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Houthi rebels.
He wrote in a post on the Trust Social: “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 even appeared to threaten strikes on Iran, saying the regime has long played “the innocent victim”.
The president blasted: “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.
“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control.”
Houthis, who are funded by the Iranian regime, operate on rudimentary intelligence and military equipment provided by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
They said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.
The US strike group is currently operating in the Red Sea.
The US warships shot down around a dozen of the deadly Houthi drones targeting the USS Harry Truman aircraft, a senior defence official told Fox News.
They were shot down “well before” they posed a serious threat to it, the source added.
The US launched what it called a “decisive and powerful” wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
And on Sunday, two US airstrikes were launched targeting the command tower of the detained Israeli ship named Galaxy Leader.
Fresh strikes were also carried out on Monday morning, with multiple targets hit in regions of Al Jaouf and Hudaydah.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces continue operations against them.
The Houthis have claimed the airstrikes have killed at least 54, including five children and two women, with the number of people wounded at 98.
Washington’s weekend strikes against the Houthis were the first since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed an “unrelenting” missile campaign until the Houthi attacks in the region stop.
Hegseth said: “I want to be very clear, this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence.”
US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out”.
He said the US is willing to target not just the Houthis, but targets more directly linked to Iran.
Iranian ships near the Yemeni coast that help the Houthis with intelligence could be targeted, Waltz said.
Who are the Houthis?
THE Houthi rebels have spent months terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships – but who are they?
The Shia militant group, which now controls large swaths of Yemen, spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.
Their warped battle cry is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
Last October, the rebel group began launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally Hamas.
In reality, they targeted commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to largely halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices around the world soaring.
The sea assaults added to the carnage in the Middle East tinderbox as intense ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza were felt across the region – with Iran accused of stoking the chaos.
The Houthi chiefs pledged their Red Sea attacks would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
The group’s chiefs have previously said their main targets are Israel, and its allies the US and Britain.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.
The UK and US have hit Houthi bases as recently as this month after the terror group once again targeted boats in the shipping lane.
Israel has also hammered the group with airstrikes, reportedly hitting oil storage tanks at the port in Al Hudaydah.
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