President Donald Trump on Thursday warned that the United States will hold Iran responsible for future Houthi attacks after the Tehran-backed militant group claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The warning came as the U.S. completed its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the U.S. attacked the Houthis "very powerfully" a year ago for disrupting global trade by shooting ships.
"Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night," Trump wrote.
He added: "Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. 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, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart."
Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers, named Encelia and Layla, with drones and missiles for allegedly violating their maritime blockade. According to CNBC, the state-run Saudi Press Agency confirmed the Encelia was targeted while transiting the Red Sea, resulting in a fire at the bow of the vessel. The agency cited an unnamed official from the Transport General Authority and reported all crew were safe, describing the attack as a violation of international law. The Saudi Press Agency did not provide an update on the Layla tanker.
Separately, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported Wednesday that an unknown projectile struck a Saudi oil tanker about 130 kilometers from the coastal town of Al Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia. The incident resulted in a fire onboard, with no casualties reported.
U.S. Central Command said overnight that American forces completed another round of attacks against Iran, hitting military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, and air defense assets. "The strikes further degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels," Centcom said in a statement. Centcom also said it had redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from entering or departing Iranian ports.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Thursday that Iran is still not ready to make a deal, at least not one the country is willing to live by. "They are going to continue to pay a price and every night the price gets higher and higher and higher," Rubio said.
