President Trump on Tuesday said that Ansar Allah, which he refers to as the Houthis, is “behaving very badly,” as Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on oil infrastructure in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and a Red Sea fuel port.
“The Houthis are behaving very badly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I thought they learned their lesson a year ago when we bombed the HELL out of them and, at their request, stopped.”
The US president was referencing a bombing campaign he launched against Ansar Allah last year with the aim of ending attacks on Israeli-linked shipping. The US failed at that goal and ended the strikes with a US-Ansar Allah ceasefire, which remains in effect. Ansar Allah has warned that it would target US assets and shut the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to US shipping if Trump breaks the truce.
Trump went on to accuse Ansar Allah of acting at the “behest” of Iran, and while the group is allied with Tehran, it also has its own interests in Yemen, and the current escalation was sparked by Saudi airstrikes on the Sanaa International Airport in July.
“They’ve been silent for a long time, but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran, which is a Failing Nation, with No Navy, No Airforce, the World’s Worst Economy, and 301% Inflation, in a very nasty way, hitting Saudi Arabia, and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the US Elections — NOT NICE,” Trump wrote.
“Somebody should explain to them that I’m not running in the Elections, I’ve already won, IN A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE, but I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!” he added.
While the US hasn’t launched direct airstrikes in Yemen during the current fighting, it is strongly backing Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign by providing intelligence and refueling Saudi warplanes.
Saudi airstrikes on Tuesday hit a fuel depot on the outskirts of Sanaa after Riyadh issued an evacuation order for the area. According to the Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni government, strikes also hit Ras Isa, a fuel port and oil export hub in the Hodeidah province on the Red Sea. The ministry said that two civilians were killed and two were wounded by the Ras Isa attack. The US massacred 84 civilians at the same fuel port during its bombing campaign last year.
Ahead of the Saudi strikes, Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Saree issued evacuation warnings for Saudi oil sites and the King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, saying that they would be hit if Saudi Arabia went ahead with the strikes on Yemeni oil infrastructure.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces urge all citizens to immediately evacuate and stay away from the targets that our armed forces will strike should the Saudi enemy proceed with its announced attacks on the following locations: the Aramco headquarters in Dammam, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and the Aramco refinery in Riyadh,” Saree wrote on Telegram.
