President Trump has issued a new threat toward Yemen’s Houthis and Iran, warning that the “real pain is yet to come” if Houthi attacks on US warships don’t stop.
The president has been blaming Iran for Houthi attacks, even though US officials have acknowledged the Yemeni group operates independently and has its own domestic weapons supply.
Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social on Monday that his bombing campaign in Yemen has “decimated” the Houthis’ capabilities even though Yemeni forces have been firing missiles at Israel and claiming attacks on US warships just about every day.
“The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks. Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us. We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed,” Trump said.
“Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation. The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran,” the president added.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, ceased their attacks when the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on January 19. President Trump began bombing Yemen again on March 15, after the Houthis said they would reimpose a blockade on Israeli shipping in response to Israeli ceasefire violations, but before they actually started launching new attacks.
The Houthis didn’t restart attacks on US warships until after the US started bombing Yemen again. Trump has threatened the Houthis with “annihilation,” but the group is extremely resilient, having survived a brutal US-backed Saudi war on Yemen from 2015 to 2022, which Trump backed throughout his first administration.
