US Will Hold Iran Responsible for Houthi Attacks, Trump Says

Amid intensifying fighting between the United States and Iran, the Iran-aligned Houthis have taken new steps to attack Saudi Arabia and impede maritime trade.

Houthi supporters hold up their weapons during a demonstration against the United States decision to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Jan. 20, 2021. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

President Donald Trump, on July 23, warned he would order retaliatory military action against Iran in response to new attacks by the Houthis, a terrorist organization that controls much of Yemen.

Also known as Ansarallah, the Houthis are a movement of Shia Muslims in Yemen that have historically aligned with Iran’s Shia clerical leadership.

Amid renewed fighting between the United States and Iran, the Houthis have taken steps to attack Saudi Arabia and impede maritime trade through the Red Sea.

In a Truth Social post, Trump reacted to a pair of overnight Houthi attacks targeting two Saudi Arabian vessels.

“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the United States will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” Trump wrote.

This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.