FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025. White House/Handout via REUTERS
In a strongly-worded statement issued Monday, President Donald Trump warned Iran would face severe consequences for its role in Houthi attacks in the Red Sea region.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN,” Trump declared on Truth Social, stressing that Iran “will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences.”
The statement comes amid escalating tensions, with the Houthis claiming to have targeted the USS Harry Truman and accompanying vessels with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone in the northern Red Sea in response to Saturday’s U.S. military strikes across Yemen.
The Iranian-backed group has conducted over 100 attacks on merchant vessels between November 2023 and December 2024, resulting in two sunken ships, four seafarer deaths, and a 430-day hostage situation involving 25 crew members aboard the Galaxy Leader.
The region experienced a period of relative calm during the initial Gaza ceasefire, with no reported Houthi missile attacks since November and the last drone sighting in December. However, tensions escalated last week when the Houthis imposed an immediate ban on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden after Israel failed to meet their March 7 ultimatum to lift the Gaza aid blockade.
U.S. forces over the weekend responded with multiple airstrikes across Yemen, including operations targeting the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and Al Jawf governorate. The Houthi-run health ministry reported dozens of casualties on the ground.
On Sunday, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz indicated that U.S. strikes could target Iranian vessels like the Behshad, which is suspected of providing targeting data to the Houthis.
Trump’s threat today added: “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 roque terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control. They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called.”
The Trump administration recently re-designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 4, adding another layer of pressure on the group.
Meanwhile, shipping companies continue to avoid the traditional Suez Canal route because of the ongoing crisis and its risks, particularly given the Houthis’ track record of misidentifying targets.
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