By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-18 05:46:47 | Updated at 2025-03-18 09:34:15
3 hours ago
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthi group that it backs in Yemen, as his administration expanded the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump returned to the White House.
Responding to the Houthi movement’s threats to international shipping, the US launched a new wave of air strikes on Saturday. On Monday, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and Al Jawf governorate north of the capital Sanaa were targeted, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said.
“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 said on his Truth Social platform.
The White House said that Trump’s message to Iran was to take the United States seriously.
The Pentagon said it had struck over 30 sites so far and would use overwhelming lethal force against the Houthis until the group stopped attacks. The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said the goal was not regime change.
