President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran on Monday, claiming the country is directly responsible for ongoing Houthi attacks in the region and threatening significant military response if the attacks continue, days after his administration launched a massive air campaign to deter the Iranian-backed militias from continued aggression in the region.
Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the "Houthis" will be met with great force, and…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 17, 2025
In a statement shared on social media, Trump asserted that Iran is providing weapons, money, and intelligence to Houthi forces in Yemen, describing the group as "sinister mobsters and thugs" who are "hated by the Yemeni people."
Video: US fighter jets taking off for a strike in Yemen. Video: US Central Command
"Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN," he wrote.
"Any further attack or retaliation by the 'Houthis' will be met with great force," Trump declared, adding that such a response might extend beyond the Houthi targets themselves. He explicitly warned that Iran "will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire."
"Iran has played 'the innocent victim' of rogue 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, 'Intelligence.' 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."
Trump's launch of a military operation targeting the Houthi rebels in Yemen included a warning that the United States would not tolerate continued attacks by the Shiite militia on vessels in the Red Sea. Following the American strike, Israeli security officials are preparing for the possibility that the Houthis could resume launching attacks on Israel in the immediate future.
While Israel is not a participant in the US attack against the Houthis, it was informed of the operation beforehand, in part based on the assumption that the Houthis might attempt to respond with missile fire toward Israeli territory.
"Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones. The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times. Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies. These relentless assaults have cost the US and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk." Trump wrote in a statement on Saturday.
