Trump says he’ll hold Tehran responsible for Houthi attacks as group targets US ships
US president vows Iran will ‘suffer the consequences’ for proxy’s actions; chants of ‘Death to America, death to Israel!’ heard at rallies, as US air strikes kill 53 and wound 98
US President Donald Trump on Monday declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, who recently claimed to have targeted a US aircraft carrier and other foreign ships in the Red Sea.
“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.
While the United States has been carrying out strikes on Houthi targets for months, Trump’s comments were unusually pointed at Iran, whom he is also pressuring over nuclear talks.
He spoke after the first US strikes on Yemen of his new term killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday.
In response, the Houthis claimed two strikes on a US aircraft carrier and rallied thousands at protests in parts of Yemen under their control.
“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.
‘Death to America, death to Israel!’
Following the deadly US strikes, huge crowds joined protests across Houthi-controlled Yemen on Monday, as tens of thousands of demonstrators, many waving assault rifles, daggers or Qurans, chanted “Death to America, death to Israel!” in the capital Sanaa.
There were also large crowds in Saada, birthplace of the Iran-backed rebel movement, and demonstrations in Dhamar, Hodeida, and Amran, footage from the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV station showed.
“Yemen will never back down — we defy the Americans, we defy the Zionists,” said a man shouting slogans to the Sanaa crowd, who chanted back: “We are the men of the Prophet.”
The rebels, at war with a Saudi-led coalition for a decade, have launched scores of attacks on ships off its coast since November 2023, disrupting global commerce in the vital Red Sea during the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians. They have also directly attacked Israel with missiles and drones. Israel retaliated to the attacks with several strikes on Houthi resources in Yemen.
Washington has vowed to keep hitting Yemen until the rebels stop attacking Red Sea shipping, with Trump warning he would use “overwhelming lethal force.”
Monday’s rallies were called by Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi to coincide with the anniversary of the Battle of Badr — a celebrated military victory by the Prophet Mohammed.
Heavy strikes
In the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Houthis since 2014, giant Yemeni and Palestinian flags punctuated a sea of demonstrators at Al-Sabeen Square, which has hosted large-scale demonstrations on a weekly basis throughout the Gaza war.
Just two days ago the Houthi-controlled capital was hit by heavy strikes, including in northern districts frequented by the rebels’ leadership.
They were the first US strikes since Trump came to office in January despite a pause in the Houthis’ attacks coinciding with a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
On Sunday, US officials vowed further bombardments until the rebels ended their campaign against Red Sea shipping, while also threatening action against the group’s sponsor Iran.
Houthi media reported more explosions late on Sunday, accusing the Americans of targeting a cotton facility in the Hodeida region and the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship hijacked in November 2023.
‘Hell will rain down’
The United Nations urged both sides to “cease all military activity,” while expressing concern over Houthi threats to resume the Red Sea attacks.
Beijing called for “dialogue and negotiation” and a de-escalation of tensions.
“China opposes any action that escalates the situation in the Red Sea,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed any attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when the ceasefire in Gaza began.
However, the group had threatened to resume its campaign over Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. It said it would “move to additional escalatory options” if the “American aggression” continued.
US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.” The Houthis have not responded to Waltz’s claim.
Costly detour
A database set up by ACLED, a non-profit monitor, shows 136 Houthi attacks against warships, commercial vessels, and Israeli and other targets since October 19, 2023.
While the Red Sea trade route normally carries around 12 percent of world shipping traffic, Houthi attacks have forced many companies into costly detours around southern Africa.
The United States had already launched several rounds of strikes on Houthi targets under former president Joe Biden.
The rebels control large swaths of Yemen, including most of its population centers, after ousting the internationally recognized government from Sanaa.
They have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015, a conflict that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis. Fighting has largely been on hold since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but the peace process has stalled following the Houthi attacks over Gaza.
