President Donald Trump explicitly linked the actions of the Houthis rebels from Yemen to the main benefactor of the group, Iran, warning Tehran, this “would suffer the consequences” for new attacks by the group.
Trump’s comments on his social website Truth degenerated the new air strike campaign from his administration targeting the rebels, who killed at least 53 people this weekend. US officials said strikes were carried out against more than 40 targets and more air strikes were scheduled for the coming days. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of military operations.
Meanwhile, the Iranians continue to weigh on how to respond to a letter that Trump sent them last week by trying to relaunch the negotiations on the Téhéran Quick Nuclear Program.
The supporters of Houthis gathered in several cities on Monday after strikes, promising to take revenge on America and Israel to block the aid to the Gaza Strip after his war against Hamas. The Al-Masirah satellite news channel of Houthis has put the young boys live, which chanted the group’s slogan: “God is the greatest; Death in America; died in Israel; curse the Jews; Victory to Islam.
“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (concerning Gaza), then do what you (Americans) want, because we are men who fear only God,” said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi chief who spoke to the demonstration in the rebellious capital of Yemen, Sanaa.
The United Nations called for all military activities in Yemen and the Red Sea, urging the “greatest restraint” and warning that “any additional escalation could exacerbate regional tensions on Monday,” said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq on Monday.
Trump connects Iran to Houthis
Describing Houthis as “gangs and thugs sinister”, Trump warned any attack on the group would meet with “great strength, and nothing guarantees that this force will stop there”.
“Iran played” the innocent victim “of terrorists thugs from which they lost control, but they did not lose control,” said Trump in his post. “They dictate each movement, giving them arms, providing them with very sophisticated money and military equipment, and even, supposedly,” intelligence “.
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And in a gap marked compared to the previous administration, Trump gave us the American central power to launch offensive strikes against the Houthis when she judges him appropriate.
The Biden administration had demanded approval of the White House to make offensive strikes like those of the weekend. This allowed American forces to launch defensive attacks, in particular to eliminate weapons that seemed ready to shoot.
Delegating the authority to the regional commander, said Lieutenant-General Alex Grynkewich, director of operations of joint staff chiefs, “allows us to carry out a tempo of operations where we can react to the opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis.” He added that it also allows the United States to hit a wider range of targets.
US officials said Trump had made this decision last week.
The weekend targeted the head office positions and drone sites where the Pentagon has identified as “key leaders” for the Houthi drone program was at the time, Grynkewich said.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that civilians had been killed in the attacks.
Iran warns us of the words “reckless”
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations delivered a strong reprimand on Monday to Trump’s recent rhetoric on the Islamic Republic, saying that Trump and US officials make “reckless and provocative statements” and have threatened to retaliate if these words are turning to actions.
In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that his country “would defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests under international law against any hostile action”.
We don’t know what triggered Trump’s post. However, the head of the Iranian paramilitary revolution guardian sought to separate the actions of the Houthis 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, although none reached the ship when he continued flight operations in the region.
“Each blow drawn by the Houthis will be considered, from that moment, as a blow from Iran’s arms and leaders, and Iran will be held responsible, and will undergo the consequences, and these consequences will be disastrous!” Added Trump.
The Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones, flowing two ships and killing four sailors, from November 2023 to January of this year, when a cease-fire started in Gaza. The campaign has also considerably noted the profile of the Houthis in the broader and reprimanded Arab world, public criticism against their human rights violations and their repressions against dissidents and handled workers.
The Houthis said there were additional US air strikes overnight, although US officials did not immediately recognize them.
The warehouse of the gastronomic program in the Houthis
In the province of Saada, the bastion of the Houthis, the Rebels made a descent into a warehouse managed by the World Food Program. An exiled government member of Yemen first reported that the Houthis had taken supplies from the establishment without the permission of the WFP in the aftermath of the American air strikes. The United Nations agency later recognized the actions of the Houthi at the Associated Press.
“The WFP regrets the decision of the de facto authorities to seize some of the products,” he said. “These products were intended for the most vulnerable food insecurity families. Only WFP and its partners have the power to distribute them and ensure that they reach the expected recipients. »»
Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, have been on the precipice of famine for years. But the UN in February suspended its operations in Saada for security problems following detentions of dozens of UN workers and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced that one of its staff members died when it was imprisoned by the Houthis.
The writers of the associated press Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp in Washington, and Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri to the United Nations contributed to this report.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
