President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have jointly sternly warned Iran against continuing to finance and support terrorist group activities.
Emphasizing Iran’s support for the Houthis, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth warned Iran the US would retaliate for any support given to terror groups.
The warnings add to previous threats from the US that Iran could face “bombing” if they continue developing their nuclear weapons programs.
Addressing Iran, Hegseth claimed the US can “see (Iran’s) LETHAL support to The Houthis.”
“We know exactly what you are doing,” continued Hegseth. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
Hegseth made the comments in response to a similar message recently published by Trump, where he warned that “Iran will be held responsible” for the Houthis’ disruptive behavior.
“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,” said Trump. “Iran will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”
The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni terror group, have been targeting US, Israeli, and allies’ ships since Hamas’ October 7th, 2023 attacks.
Houthi forces have orchestrated drone and missile attacks against US military and commercial ships and increasingly directly attacked Israel’s civilian population.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, it is estimated the Houthis attacked US military and commercial ships over 300 times.
Trump vowed to pursue a “maximum pressure campaign” on the Houthis and Iran and consequently ordered the US military to pummel Houthi positions with daily air strikes.
However, the Houthis’ continued resistance to US pressure has reportedly prompted the US government to consider alternate avenues, such as supporting a ground invasion against the Houthis.
Yemeni pro-government militias are allegedly preparing to invade areas controlled by the Houthis to drive them out of key areas under their control.
US officials have not officially supported the ground invasion idea, but reports claim they could be helping coordinate them through back channels.
