President Donald Trump said Tehran will be held responsible for any renewed Houthi assaults on commercial shipping as attacks on Saudi oil tankers threaten to widen disruptions across two critical global energy routes.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday that the United States will impose major military consequences if Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, directly linking Tehran to the conduct of the Iran-backed group.
The warning followed Houthi claims that the group struck two Saudi oil tankers overnight as part of what it called a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. One of the vessels issued a distress signal after being hit by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan, while Saudi state media reported that the strike caused a fire aboard the ship.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the Houthis had acted with restraint after an earlier U.S. military campaign but had changed course by resuming attacks on maritime traffic.
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships,” Trump wrote. “If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
Trump said he was “very disappointed” by the latest attacks after concluding that the Houthis had “until now, acted very professionally and smart.”
The renewed Houthi activity threatens to place additional pressure on international shipping at a time when commercial vessels are already facing attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. Sustained strikes around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would create a second major danger point for energy shipments moving through the Middle East, increasing the risk of delays, rerouting and higher transportation costs.
The Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and serves as a vital passage for oil tankers and cargo ships traveling between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Shipping analysts have warned that repeated attacks in the area could further disrupt global trade and drive energy prices higher.
Those concerns have intensified as Iran continues targeting commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, another narrow waterway that carries a significant portion of the world’s traded oil. The possibility of simultaneous instability at both chokepoints has unsettled energy markets, with Brent crude prices climbing sharply as traders assess the risk of broader supply interruptions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Iran would continue facing severe consequences until it agrees to a durable settlement.
“Iran is begging for a deal every day,” Rubio told reporters during a diplomatic summit in Southeast Asia. “The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal … they either break it or they want to change it.”
Rubio also said the Houthis had been manipulated by Tehran and had been “snookered into this.”
The escalation came one day after Trump announced that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacked a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The administration has increasingly tied Iranian actions against shipping to direct retaliation against infrastructure inside the country.
American military operations against Iran continued overnight as Iranian forces reportedly launched further attacks on U.S. positions and infrastructure in neighboring countries. The exchange has broadened a conflict already affecting commercial shipping, regional allies and global energy supplies.
The Trump administration has argued that sustained military pressure is necessary to defend U.S. personnel and allies, protect freedom of navigation and force Iran back into negotiations. Trump’s latest warning makes clear that Washington will also treat renewed Houthi attacks as Iranian responsibility rather than as isolated actions by a separate armed group.
With maritime traffic threatened in both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict now risks disrupting two of the world’s most important routes for oil and commercial trade at the same time.
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