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US President Donald Trump (AP photo)
United States President Donald Trump on Monday declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Houthis have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea in retaliation to the Israeli action against Hamas in Gaza.
"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.
Trump's statement comes a day after he ordered a military strike on Houthi-held areas in Yemen that killed at least 31 people.
Houthis claimed that the US strikes killed civilians, including children in the capital Sanaa on Saturday.
Before the attack, Trump had vowed to use "overwhelming lethal force" against Houthis in the back of the rebels' operations in the Red Sea.
The airstrikes also mark the first US military action against the Houthis since Trump’s administration began in January amid the rebels' attacks on Israel and Red Sea vessels amid the Gaza conflict.
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are a Zaidi Shia rebel group from northern Yemen, primarily based in Saada province. They emerged in the 1990s as a religious-political movement opposing Saudi-backed Sunni influence and Western interference in Yemen.
The group was founded by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, who was killed in 2004 by Yemeni government forces, triggering an ongoing conflict. Though Zaidi Shia Islam is distinct from the Twelver Shia Islam of Iran, the Houthis have received military and financial support from Iran, leading to accusations that they serve as an Iranian proxy.
The group gained global attention in 2014 when they took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile and sparking a war with the Saudi-led coalition in 2015. Since then, they have engaged in missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and recently, international shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
Their attacks, particularly on Israel-linked ships, have drawn US and UK airstrikes in retaliation. The Houthis claim these actions are in support of Palestine, but their increasing aggression in the region has led to fears of wider conflict. Currently, they control much of northern Yemen, running a parallel government while continuing their fight against Yemeni government forces, Saudi Arabia, and UAE-backed militias.
Who backs Houthi rebels?
The Houthis primarily receive support from Iran, which provides them with weapons, military training, and financial assistance. Iran sees the Houthis as a useful ally in its broader strategy to counter Saudi Arabia and expand its influence in the region.
The Lebanese Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed group, has also reportedly provided military training and strategic guidance to the Houthis. In addition to Iran and Hezbollah, the Houthis have received support from various local tribes in Yemen, particularly those opposed to Saudi influence.
Some reports suggest that North Korea has also secretly supplied them with weapons, though this is less confirmed. The Houthis claim to be fighting against Western imperialism, and in recent conflicts, they have aligned themselves with the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance", which includes groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and various militias in Iraq and Syria.
