Illustrative image. (The U.S. Central Command)
United States President Donald Trump warned on March 18 that Iran will be held responsible and face “dire” consequences for any further attacks by Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah).
“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 said in a post to Truth Social.
“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.
Dozens of strikes hit Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on March 15 and 16 on orders from Trump, who said that the large-scale attack was a response to the group’s attacks on shipping.
The strikes killed 53 people and left some 98 others wounded. The U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the operations of American forces in the Middle East, described the large-scale attack as the start of a large-scale operation targeting the Houthis across Yemen.
Additional U.S. strikes hit Houthi-controlled areas on March 17 and 18, with blasts reported in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, the northern Jawf governorate and the capital Sanaa.
Ahead of Trump’s warning, the Houthis announced that they had once again targeted an American aircraft carrier group, calling it retaliation for U.S. strikes.
A spokesperson for the Houthis, Brigadier General Yahya Sarea, said in a statement that “for the second time in 24 hours,” Houthi fighters launched missiles and drones at the USS Harry S. Truman and several of its warships in the northern Red Sea.
The group also vowed in the statement to keep targeting vessels affiliated with Israel until the Israeli “siege” on the Gaza Strip is lifted.
From its side, Iran sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council, complaining that Trump and other U.S. officials have made “reckless and provocative statements” that leveled “baseless accusations” and threatened the use of force against Tehran.
“Iran strongly and categorically rejects any accusation on the violation of relevant Security Council resolutions on arms embargoes in Yemen or involvement in any destabilizing activities in the region,” Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani writes in the letter, seen by Reuters.
Amid the escalation on March 17, Iran’s Nournews reported that F-14 fighter jets from the country’s air force intercepted a U.S. spy drone near Iranian airspace. Aviation observers confirmed that a drone approached Iran, identifying it as a MQ-4C Triton.
Iran’s armed forces remain on high alert, prepared for “full-scale defense and a severe counterattack” against enemy interests in the Middle East, Nournews said in a report.
The U.S. appears to be determined to deter the Houthis even if this led to an escalation with Iran. It’s worthing noting that the Trump administration have already ramped up sanctions pressure on Iran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
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