In a post on Wednesday, the president says Iran should let the ‘Houthis fight it out themselves.’
President Donald Trump sent a warning to Iran that it must stop providing aid to the Houthis group after his administration carried out airstrikes in Yemen this week.
“Reports are coming in that while Iran has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support to the Houthis, they are still sending large levels of Supplies. Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY. Let the Houthis fight it out themselves,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Wednesday.
“Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly. Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated.”
Trump did not say what may happen if Tehran continues to supply the Houthis.
Since late 2023, the Houthis, a State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization, have carried out attacks on U.S. military vessels and shipping interests in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Yemen-based group, which controls wide swaths of the country, has said the attacks are in response to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, also a designated terrorist organization.
Iran has long denied supporting the Houthis, although Iranian officials have sent warnings to the Trump administration after the U.S. airstrikes in Yemen. U.S. officials have long said that Iran is backing various terrorist groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, denied the Iranian regime is involved in any of the Houthi attacks on shipping vessels and “plays no role in setting” policies of groups that it has allied with in the Middle East, according to state-run TV.
“I warn all enemies that any threat being carried out [against Iran] will draw a tough, decisive, and devastating reaction,” he also said in remarks carried by state-run Tasnim News.
On March 17, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told a state-run outlet Press TV that Tehran would similarly take “decisive action” after the U.S. airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen.
