ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to the Iran-backed Ansarullah Movement in Yemen - better known as the Houthis - which has claimed attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea and declared a blockade on Saudi shipping there, warning that "military punishment" would be inflicted on Tehran for the Houthis' actions, as the group is a "proxy of Iran."
In a Thursday statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships," adding that "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 [Thursday]," the US president added, warning 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."
He warned that “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.”
The remarks come days after Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree declared a "maritime embargo" against Saudi vessels transiting the Red Sea on Monday, saying the blockade was "effective immediately."
The next day, Trump told reporters at the White House that if the Iran-backed Yemeni group carries out its threat, "We'll just have to take care of business.”
The state-run Saudi Press Agency on Thursday cited a Riyadh transport official confirming the targeting of a Saudi-owned vessel as it transited the Red Sea, with the official censuring the assault as a violation of international law.
On the same day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported receiving notice of an incident on Wednesday some 70 nautical miles off the coastal town of al-Shuqaiq, in Saudi Arabia's southwestern Jizan province, facing the Red Sea.
The reports came shortly after Saree said in a statement that the Houthis had targeted "two Saudi oil tankers,” identifying them as the Encelia and the Layla, after they had purportedly "violated the blockade" imposed by the Iran-backed group in the Red Sea.
Saree further claimed that the Houthis had also "forced approximately ten ships to retreat and return" from those waters.
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