Washington
\nUS President Donald Trump on Monday declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels, who have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea.
\n\u201cEvery 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,\u201d Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
\nWhile the United States has been carrying out strikes on Houthi targets for months, Trump\u2019s comments were unusually pointed at Iran, whom he is also pressuring over nuclear talks.
\nHe spoke after the first US strikes on Yemen of his new term killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday.
\nIn response, the Houthis claimed two strikes on a US aircraft carrier and rallied thousands at protests in parts of Yemen under their control.
\nThe United States struck the Houthis over their repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels, which have put a major strain on the vital trade route. The Houthis have said they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a military campaign with US support.
\n\u201cAny further attack or retaliation by the \u2018Houthis\u2019 will be met with great force,\u201d Trump also said in his post, adding that \u201cIran has played \u2018the innocent victim\u2019\u201d in the conflict.
\nBefore this weekend\u2019s targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire in Gaza began.
\nTrump, who ran for a second White House term in part based on avoiding further involvement in the Middle East conflict, has also called for a new nuclear deal with Iran while reinstating his \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d policy of sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington US President Donald Trump on Monday declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels, who have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea. \u201cEvery shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-467828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n