The US president, Donald Trump, has declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, who have targeted US 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, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
Trump’s comments further escalate his administration’s new campaign targeting the rebels. Airstrikes killed at least 53 people this weekend and appear poised to continue. Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent it last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
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.’”
It is unclear what sparked Trump’s post. However, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards 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.
Iran did not immediately comment on the post.
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AP and AFP contributed to this report
