President Trump said on Monday that the U.S. will consider any further attacks by the Houthis in Yemen as emanating from Iran and threatened the Iranian government with “dire consequences.”
Why it matters: Trump ordered strikes across Yemen on Saturday, which killed more than 50 people, according to Houthi affiliated media. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz claimed on Sunday the strikes “hit multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.”
State of play: The U.S. conducted numerous additional strikes on Sunday and on Monday against Houthi targets across Yemen. Sources briefed on the strikes said they hit the houses of Houthi leaders and commanders, a missile production sites and weapons depots.
- The Houthis said on Sunday they conducted two drone and missile attack on the USS Truman strike group in the Red Sea, which plays a central role in the U.S. military campaign.
- The Pentagon confirmed the attacks but said they were defeated and caused no damages.
What they’re saying: “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 wrote on his Truth Social account.
- The president rejected Iran’s claim that it doesn’t control the Houthis. “Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi… all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN,” he said.
- Trump threatened any further retaliation by the Houthis will be “met with great force” and suggested the U.S. response could also target Iran.
- “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, Intelligence,” he added.
What to watch: National security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday that the U.S. could hit Iranian targets in Yemen as part of its military campaign against the Houthis.
- Waltz said the strikes in Yemen on Saturday were also a message to Iran.
- “We will hold not only Houthis accountable but also their Iranian backers,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
- He said the targets that “will be on the table” include Iranian ships near the Yemeni coast that help the Houthis in gathering intelligence, Iranian military trainers, and “other things they have put in to help the Houthis attack the global economy.”
The big picture: Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal.
- U.S. officials have said Trump wants any such deal to include limitations on Iran’s support for regional terror groups and militias, like the Houthis.
- Khamenei called Trump’s outreach “deception” and stressed Iran is not going to agree to any limitations on its relations with other groups in the region. Iran also condemned the U.S. strikes in Yemen.
Trump has also said if Iran won’t agree to a deal, the U.S. will pursue “other options” if needed to ensure Tehran isn’t able to develop a nuclear bomb.
- Waltz said on Sunday that Iran needs to “hand over and give up” all elements of its nuclear program including missiles, weaponization and enrichment of uranium “or they can face a whole series of other consequences,” adding that “Iran has been offered a way out of this.”
- Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limitations and inspections on Iran’s nuclear program during his first term.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Trump’s comments on Monday.
