Trump warns Iran it will face 'consequences' of further attacks from
Yemen's Houthi rebels
[March 18, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday
explicitly linked the actions of Yemen's Houthi rebels to the group's
main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran it would “suffer the consequences”
for further attacks by the group.
The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his
administration’s new campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels, which
killed at least 53 people this weekend alone. U.S. officials said the
strikes were carried out against more than 40 targets and more
airstrikes were planned in the coming days. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss details of military operations.
Meanwhile, the Iranians continue to weigh how to respond to a letter
Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over
Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Houthi supporters rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes,
vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza
Strip after its war on Hamas there. The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite
news channel put young boys on air live, who chanted the group's slogan:
“God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews;
victory to Islam.”
“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (regarding Gaza), so do
whatever you (Americans) want, for we are men who fear no one but God,"
said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the
demonstration in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
The United Nations called for a halt to all military activities in Yemen
and the Red Sea, urging “utmost restraint” and warning that “any
additional escalation could exacerbate regional tensions,” U.N. deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.
Trump links Iran to the Houthis
Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned
any attack by the group would 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,” Trump alleged in
his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons,
supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment,
and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.'”
And in a marked departure from the previous administration, Trump has
given U.S. Central Command the authority to launch offensive strikes
against the Houthis when it deems it appropriate.
The Biden administration had required White House approval to conduct
offensive strikes like the ones over the weekend. It did allow U.S.
forces to launch defensive attacks, including to take out weapons that
appeared to be ready to fire.
Delegating the authority to the regional commander, said Lt. Gen. Alex
Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
“allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to
opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put
pressure on the Houthis.” He added that it also allows the U.S. to hit a
broader array of targets.
The U.S. officials said Trump made the decision last week.
The weekend strikes targeted headquarters positions and drone sites
where what the Pentagon identified as “key leaders” for the Houthis’
drone program were located at the time, Grynkewich said.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that any civilians were killed
in the attacks. However, Houthi officials earlier said women and
children had been killed in the strikes.
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Houthi supporters chant slogans and hold pictures of Abdul Malik
al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, during an anti-U.S.
and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP
Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Iran warns US about ‘reckless’ words
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations delivered a strong rebuke
Monday to Trump’s recent rhetoric about the Islamic Republic, saying
Trump and U.S. officials are making “reckless and provocative
statements” and threatened to retaliate if those words turn to
actions.
In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Amir Saeid
Iravani said his country would “defend its sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and national interests under international law against
any hostile action.”
It's unclear what sparked Trump's post on Truth Social. However, the
head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate
the Houthis' actions from those of Tehran this weekend. The Houthis
also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman
aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it
continues flight operations in the region.
“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, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump added.
The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles
and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from
November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in
Gaza. The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis’ profile in the
wider Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their
human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.
The Houthis claimed there had been additional U.S. airstrikes
overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge
them.
World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis
In Saada province, the Houthis' stronghold, the rebels raided a
warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen's exiled
government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from
the facility without the WFP's permission in the aftermath of the
U.S. airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the
Houthis' actions to The Associated Press.
“WFP regrets the de facto authorities' decision to seize some of the
commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for the most
vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have
the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended
recipients.”
Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been
on the precipice of famine for years. But the U.N. in February
suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following
the detentions of dozens of U.N. workers and others in recent
months. A day later, the WFP announced one of its staffers died
while imprisoned by the Houthis.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp in
Washington, and Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the United
Nations contributed to this report.
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