President Donald Trump declared on Monday that he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, who have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea.
"Every shot fired by the Houthis will be considered, from this point forward, as 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 direct in targeting Iran, whom he is also pressuring in the ongoing nuclear talks.
Trump's statement followed the first US strikes on Yemen during his new term, which killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday.
In response, the Houthis claimed two strikes on a US aircraft carrier and rallied thousands of supporters at protests in parts of Yemen under their control.
The United States has targeted the Houthis in retaliation for their repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels, which have heavily impacted the vital trade route.
The Houthis have stated that they are carrying out these attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging 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.
Prior to this weekend's targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed any attacks in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire in Gaza began.
Trump, who is running for a second White House term partially on a platform of avoiding further Middle East conflicts, has also called for a new nuclear deal with Iran while reinstating his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions.
With AFP
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